Germany could replace around half of its natural gas imports from Russia this year in the event of a delivery stoppage, utility industry association BDEW said on Friday
The group that represents 1,900 operators in gas, power and water supply said that according to its sources, Russia’s share of Germany’s gas supply in Jan-March, which is not officially published, stood at 40%.
Estimates from analysts and utilities last December had pegged the share at over 50%.
“As of today, around 50% of Russian natural gas can be replaced or substituted in the short term. This corresponds to about 20% of the annual gas requirement in Germany,” said BDEW managing director Kerstin Andreae.
A target to fill Germany’s underground gas storage capacity of 24 billion cubic metres to the brim by the beginning of next winter would also become questionable, BDEW said.
Domestic gas use amounted to 100 billion bcm last year, down 6.4% from 2020. ..
