(FILES) In this file photo taken on August 30, 2022 facilities to receive and distribute natural gas are pictured on the grounds of gas transport and pipeline network operator Gascade in Lubmin, northeastern Germany, close to the border with Poland - the industrial infrastructure includes a receiving and distribution station for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and is also the place. - Russia has halted gas deliveries to Germany via a key pipeline for an indefinite period, after saying on September 2, 2022 that it had found problems in a key piece of equipment, a development that will worsen Europe's energy crisis. Russian gas giant Gazprom said Friday that the Nord Stream pipeline due to reopen at the weekend would remain shut until a turbine is repaired. In a statement, Gazprom indicated it had discovered "oil leaks" in a turbine during a planned three-day maintenance operation. Gazprom added that "until it is repaired... the transport of gas via Nord Stream is completely suspended". (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) (Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images
Germany’s gas storage facilities on Friday reached the October goal of 85 per cent despite of the extended halt of the main pipeline delivering gas from Russia to Germany, industry data from European operators group GIE showed on Saturday.
The storage levels are already at 85.02 per cent, suggesting that the companies and citizens in Europe’s biggest economy are heeding the government’s plea to save gas to get it through the winter in light of reduced Russian gas imports.
In July, the government unveiled new energy-saving measures and tightened its gas storage targets, fearing that persistently low Russian gas supplies could lead to winter shortages.
Industry gas consumption fell by 21 per cent in July year-on-year, Germany’s BDI industry association head Siegfried Russwurm said last week but warned that the drop was not a good sign.
“The reason for this is often not efficiency gains, but a dramatic drop in production. That is not a success, but an expression of a massive problem,” Russwurm said.
Germany’s new achieved storage goal came as Russia scrapped a deadline to resume flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, saying it had found faults during maintenance.