Dusseldorf (dpa / lnw) - North Rhine-Westphalia's new Economics and Energy Minister Mona Neubaur (Greens) has warned of a worsening of the gas crisis. The situation is currently "serious but stable," said Neubaur on Thursday in her first speech in the state parliament in a current hour. The gas supply is still secured. Nevertheless, the situation continues to worsen due to the gradual reduction in gas flows from Russia. The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine "relentlessly exposed" Russia's heavy dependence on energy.
The former Green Party leader had won a state parliament mandate in the election in mid-May and was only appointed minister on Wednesday.
After the drastic reduction in gas supplies from Russia, the federal government declared the alarm level in the gas emergency plan. Since the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine at the end of February, Europe's supply of gas from Russia has been considered endangered. Energy prices have already risen sharply.
According to Neubaur, financial compensation for consumers and companies must be ensured. Because there is a risk of a six-fold increase in prices. In view of the "impositions" on people, a "fair burden sharing" must be created.
The SPD warned of the consequences of the crisis for the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia. 440,000 people are employed in energy-intensive companies in Germany, which in turn account for 40 percent of the country's gas consumption. The emergency level of the gas emergency plan stipulates that the majority of these companies will be disconnected from the grid in order to secure the supply of private households and critical infrastructure.
