Germany is dependent on Russian gas – but Russia is cutting back on deliveries. Concerns about a gas shortage are growing. Will tenants soon feel the consequences firsthand?
Russia has cut back its gas supplies – and in Germany the consequences of a possible shortage are being debated more and more fiercely. Should the state make specific specifications for more economical heating? Construction Minister Klara Geywitz spoke out against lower minimum temperatures for apartments. “I think legally prescribed freezing is nonsensical,” said the SPD politician to the German Press Agency.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck does not rule out legal measures as a consequence of reduced gas supplies from Russia. “If the storage volumes do not increase, then we will have to take further measures to save, if necessary also by law,” said the Green politician on Thursday evening in the ARD “Tagesthemen”.
When asked if that could also mean lowering the prescribed minimum temperature in apartments, he replied: “We will look at all the laws that make a contribution there.” A spokesman for Habeck did not name any specific measures on Friday. He spoke of an exam. SPD party leader Lars Klingbeil appealed to consumers to save gas. “Anyone who turns down the heating and helps to save energy is doing a great service to get through this crisis,” said Klingbeil on Monday in the RTL / ntv program “Frühstart”. “There are tough months ahead of us, but we will get through it with solidarity and unity.”
The Russian state-owned company Gazprom has significantly reduced its gas supplies to Germany through the Nord Stream Baltic Sea pipeline. In order to save on a large scale, the President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, also proposed lowering the heating requirements. Landlords should no longer have to turn up the heating system to at least 20 to 22 degrees during the heating period, but the specifications could drop at times.
The Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies (GdW) called for the minimum temperature in the apartments to be reduced in the event of a gas shortage: “Should gas deliveries to Germany be further restricted significantly in the future and there should be a shortage, the legal framework should be adjusted in such a way that further reductions the minimum temperature to a maximum lower limit of 18 degrees during the day and 16 degrees at night,” said GdW President Axel Gedaschko of the Funke media group. The German Association of Towns and Municipalities also called for changes to the legal framework, as General Manager Gerd Landsberg told the “Rheinische Post”.
The resistance is great. “It must not come to the point that people have to freeze in their apartments in winter,” said Verena Bentele, President of the social association VdK, the dpa. “Especially the elderly, those in need of care and the chronically ill stay at home and are particularly dependent on heated rooms.” The German Tenants’ Association described a legally prescribed throttling as the wrong way.
The federal German Energy Agency was also critical. Disputes with landlords about maintaining the temperature are already a major annoyance. “Such a proposal is anti-consumer and harms acceptance and thus the success of the energy transition,” said Dena boss Andreas Kuhlmann.
Building Minister Geywitz said: “The case law stipulates a minimum of 20 degrees.” The debate leads nowhere, because with an amendment to the heating cost ordinance at the beginning of January, monthly information about consumption was sent to tenants. “So you can check your consumption regularly and are already doing so more and more simply because of the prices.” It makes more sense to have practical information from consumer centers and the federal government.
Germany is still dependent on Russian gas. Since the beginning of the Ukraine war, the share of Russian gas deliveries has been reduced because Norway, for example, is delivering more. But the share is still 35 percent. Gas is important not only for heating homes, but also in industry, as a raw material for production and for energy production. For the first time since the end of March, the Federal Network Agency described the situation as “tense” in its daily report on gas supply. The supply is stable at the moment. The gas storage tanks are therefore 56 percent full.
That is above average, but not enough, said Habeck. The government had passed legal requirements so that the gas storage tanks were sufficiently filled when the heating season started. The goal is 90 percent by November 1st. However, further curbing of gas supplies via Nord Stream could make it more difficult to achieve this. Habeck appealed again to companies and citizens to save energy and gas.
The energy expert Thomas Engelke from the Federal Association of Consumer Centers said: “Now everyone is called upon to save as much energy as possible: trade, commerce, the public sector and private households.” It is particularly important for those who use a lot of energy. “Many private households with low gas and electricity consumption, on the other hand, cannot save any more.”
