June 21, 2022: -Germany has said the deteriorating gas market situation means Europe’s huge economy should limit the use of natural gas for electricity production and steam more coal for a “transitional period.”

On Sunday, Economy Minister Robert Habeck warned that the situation would be “really tight in winter” without precautionary measures to ignore a supply shortage.

As a result, Germany seeks the most crucial target for replacement in the transition toward renewable alternatives.

“That’s bitter, but this situation must decrease gas consumption. According to a translation, we must, and we will do everything we can to store as much gas as possible in summer and autumn,” the Green Party’s Habeck said.

“The gas storage tanks must be full in winter. That has top priority,” he added.

Shortly after, an ominous warning from Russia’s state-backed energy giant Gazprom exacerbated fears of a total supply disruption to the European Union.

Gazprom said last week that it had further limited supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

Gazprom cited a technical problem for the supply cut, stating the issue stemmed from the postponed return of equipment serviced by Germany’s Siemens Energy in Canada.

Habeck has refuted that claim, saying the move was politically motivated and designed to unsettle the region and ramp up gas prices.

It’s unknown whether Nord Stream 1 gas flows will return to normal levels.