Similar to Germany, Austria is also highly dependent on Russian energy imports. The government in Vienna is therefore planning to connect the gas storage facility in Haidach near Salzburg to the grid before the end of this year. This also has direct consequences for Bavaria.
Austria's government wants to tap into a gas storage facility connected to the German grid this year. As the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" reports in its Monday edition, it is about the gas storage facility in Haidach near Salzburg, which has so far mainly supplied Bavaria's households and industrial companies with gas.
"We have decided that all gas storage facilities on Austrian territory must be connected to our network," the newspaper quoted Austria's climate protection and energy minister, Leonore Gewessler. Gewessler told SZ that she expects "a first connection" to the Austrian gas network "this year". The gas storage facilities in Austria are currently 50 percent full.
Austria is highly dependent on Russian energy imports and is therefore, like Germany, under great pressure due to the lack of gas supplies. In view of the curtailed Russian gas supplies, Austria had already decided in June to reactivate a coal-fired power plant that had been shut down. Imports via terminals for landing liquid gas on the German coast are also being considered.
The Haidach storage facility is a joint project between the Austrian RAG, Gazprom and the German gas trading company Wingas. It can store around 2.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas, making it the second largest storage facility in Central Europe. According to Gewessler, since July 1 it has been forbidden by law not to use booked storage capacities in the country.
"If customers don't store, the capacity has to be passed on. This is critical infrastructure, which is needed right now in a crisis like this," said the Green politician. A bilateral agreement is also to be concluded with Germany in order to fulfill the EU Commission's mandate for joint filling of the storage facility.
