Bavaria's Prime Minister Söder is demanding that the Federal Minister of Economics, Habeck, subject the German gas supply to a stress test. He is concerned about the security of supply in the event of a gas shortage. Söder advocates the commissioning of coal-fired power plants and a longer term for nuclear reactors.
Bavaria is demanding a stress test for the domestic gas supply from the federal government. "It is feared that in the event of a gas shortage, the gas pressure might not be sufficient to supply the gas power plants needed in Bavaria to ensure security of supply," said Prime Minister Markus Söder in a letter to Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck.
In addition, there is a fear that in this case the line capacity will not be sufficient to supply Bavaria with the electricity it needs from coal-fired power plants in the west and east. "In this context, it is irritating that this stress test, which was promised for May 2022, has still not been submitted despite the worsening situation."
In the letter sent on Tuesday, Söder refers to calculations by the Federal Network Agency, according to which there would be a gas shortage even if Russian gas deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline remained at the currently throttled level of 40 percent. In addition to the stress test, Söder again called for all gas storage facilities relevant to Bavaria to be filled. For the storage facility in Haidach, Austria, the necessary agreement with Austria must therefore be concluded "as soon as possible".
In order to store more gas supplies for autumn and winter, the coal-fired power plants in Germany would have to go back on line in the grid reserve as soon as possible, Söder continues to write, according to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. Although the Federal Council wants to create the necessary legal basis for this on July 8, "unfortunately, from the point of view of the state government, this step comes too late".
In his letter, Söder again called for the continued operation of the German nuclear reactors as a consequence. In this way, electricity generation from gas can be reduced, security of supply increased and the stability of the power supply system improved. According to Söder, the state government sees no "valid arguments" against extending the nuclear lifetime.
