Russian state energy giant Gazprom cut gas supplies to Germany to 20 per cent. One German city has turned off the hot water. Europe is panicking. It’s going to be a cold winter.
Hanover becomes the first big city in Europe to ban hot water and central heating in public buildings in response to the gas crisis. The is is the result of warnings to Germans to expect sky high electricity bills and sweeping gas rationing measures that will affect their day-to-day lives.
They might cut off the water in swimming pools, sports halls and gyms.
Other desperate gas-saving measures include switching off public fountains and blacking out night-time lights on major buildings such as the town hall and museums.
The city’s mayor, Belit Onay, spoke of an “imminent gas shortage” that meant they had to reduce the city’s energy consumption by 15 per cent.
There will also be a ban on portable air conditioners, heaters and radiators among the general populace as the average German begins to pay the price for sanctions.
These reductions, which EU energy chief Kadri Simson dismissed as ‘politically motivated’, have seen energy bills soar, governments struggle to fill gas storage facilities and energy.
Russia claims they aren’t weaponizing Nord Stream, but few believe them.
Russia had to reduce its gas flow to Europe through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline due to turbine malfunctions, Gazprom Deputy Chief Executive Vitaly Markelov said on Friday. The issues are due to Germany’s Siemens company – which produces the turbines – failing to fulfill its commitments, he told the Rossiya 24 TV Channel.
Siemens has so far eliminated only one-fourth of the total number of discovered malfunctions affecting its turbines, Markelov said.
That’s according to the Russians.
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