Germany calls for population to conserve energy following Russian gas cut
Germany's government has called on the population on June 15 to conserve energy following a steep decline in Russian gas flow via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
In a video appeal posted on Twitter, deputy chancellor Robert Habeck described the situation as "serious" and urged companies and citizens to do what they could to save energy. "Every kilowatt hour helps in this situation," he said.
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Gazprom announced on June 14 it was cutting gas flow via Nord Stream 1 by 40%, citing technical difficulties including Siemens' failure to return equipment to the Portovaya compressor station on Russia's Baltic shore as the reason. The German engineering group has said it is unable to return the equipment because of Canadian sanctions.
Gazprom said the following day it was reducing supply by a further 20% versus the original volume plan, because it had been forced to take additional Siemens equipment offline at the Portovaya facility.
Italy, Slovakia and Austria have also reported problems with their Russian gas supply in recent days. Italy's Eni said it had been notified by Gazprom that supplies would be reduced by 15%, without a reason being provided.
Habeck on June 15 panned the reduction in Nord Stream 1's supplies as politically motivated. Earlier this month the vice chancellor launched an awareness campaign to encourage German citizens to cut their energy use.