Munich (dpa / lby) - In view of the feared gas shortage in the coming winter, Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger is calling for federal grants for companies that can switch from gas to oil at short notice. According to Aiwanger's calculations, both gas and money could be saved. "Across the country there are many companies that could switch from gas to other energy sources without much difficulty," Aiwanger said on Friday. However, the companies often do not do this "because they still have cheap old gas contracts".
Freie Wahler-Chef refers to the fact that breweries and many other companies have installed dual-fuel burners that can burn both gas and heating oil. Gas is currently being bought on the world market at outrageously high prices to fill the storage facilities for the winter - Aiwanger spoke of two euros per cubic meter for the Austrian storage facility in Haidach.
The Economics Minister therefore advocated that the federal government compensate companies with flexible energy supplies for the difference between their cheap gas price and the higher oil price, so that they can switch over without financial losses. "So the federal government is using more tax money than necessary and the gas price is being pushed up more than necessary," criticized Aiwanger.
