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Canada says Russian gas pipeline turbines will go to Germany

Canada decided Saturday to return to Germany turbines needed to maintain the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, with Russia waiting on the machine's arrival before increasing supplies.

Published: 10 July 2022 10:30 CEST
A helicopter flies over the Nordstream gas pipeline terminal in Lubmin
In this file photo taken on November 8, 2011 a helicopter flies over the Nordstream gas pipeline terminal prior to an inaugural ceremony for the first of Nord Stream's twin 1,224 kilometre gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea, in Lubmin, northeastern Germany. John MACDOUGALL / AFP

Ukraine had urged Canada not to return the turbines as it seeks to keep up international pressure on Russia months after it commenced its deadly invasion.

Germany is seeking to bolster waning energy supplies, but Ukraine has accused Berlin of giving in to Russian “blackmail” after Moscow blamed reduced supplies on the need for repairs, not market conditions amid the Ukraine war.

The turbines are currently undergoing maintenance at a Canadian site owned by German industrial giant Siemens.

“Canada will grant a time-limited and revocable permit for Siemens Canada to allow the return of repaired Nordstream 1 turbines to Germany, supporting Europe’s ability to access reliable and affordable energy as they continue to transition away from Russian oil and gas,” said Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.

 “Absent a necessary supply of natural gas, the German economy will suffer very significant hardship and Germans themselves will be at risk of being unable to heat their homes as winter approaches,” he said in a statement.

The Canadian minister also accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of wanting to “sow division” among western allies.

Russian energy behemoth Gazprom last month blamed the issue for a reduction in supplies to Germany via the controversial pipeline, with Berlin facing a serious energy crisis.

Berlin says it has been in regular contact with Ottawa in recent weeks in order to ensure the turbine’s swift transfer back to Europe without Canada falling foul of Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia.

The German finance ministry indicated that “if it makes taking the decision easier for the Canadians in the legal sense,” Germany could propose Ottawa send Berlin the machinery rather than to Gazprom and Russia.

While not accepting maintenance issues as the reason for Russia cutting supplies, Germany says the return of the turbine would deprive Moscow of an excuse to keep supplies significantly below normal levels.

But Ukraine said its own pipelines were capable of transporting a sufficient volume of gas to Germany to make up for the falloff in Russian supplies.

“We are asking Canada to not return the Gazprom turbine to Germany, but to Ukraine,” Sergiy Makogon, the chief executive officer of Ukraine’s gas transmission system OGTSU wrote on Facebook earlier this week.

 He insisted that “we must not submit to Kremlin blackmail.”

 In addition, Canada announced on Saturday its intention to extend its economic sanctions against Russia to industrial manufacturing.

“These new sanctions will apply to land and pipeline transport and the manufacturing of metals and of transport, computer, electronic and electrical equipment, as well as of machinery,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a
statement.

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PRACTICAL TIPS

How German households can save on their electricity bills

Customers can save a high three-digit sum on their household electricity costs, according to calculations done by German price comparison portals. Here's why you may want to switch your tariff.

Published: 22 May 2024 11:23 CEST
How German households can save on their electricity bills

German households are overpaying for electricity by billions of euros each year, according to calculations carried out on the Verivox price comparison portal.

This is because nearly a quarter of households in Germany purchase electricity via the most expensive tariff group from their local supplier – the so-called ‘basic supply’, or Grundversorgung in German.

But in Germany, customers have energy tariff options, and saving hundreds on your energy bill can sometimes be as simple as checking your current tariff online and switching to a cheaper one in a matter of minutes.

Based on approximately ten million households consuming electricity from the basic supply, Verivox calculates that Germans are overpaying by about €5.5 billion annually. That’s because the average difference between basic supply rates and the cheapest local energy rates currently amounts to 20 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh).

What is the ‘basic supply’ for household energy?

Household electricity in Germany is purchased through different tariffs (Stromtarifs). Through these various tariffs, local energy companies offer different prices for electricity, depending on customer contracts.

The basic supply tariff for electricity can be thought of as the default. When a new house is connected to the energy grid, for example, its electricity will be provided via the basic supply unless the homeowner chooses another tariff option.

READ ALSO: How to change electricity and gas providers in Germany

The basic supply is intended to ensure that everyone has access to electricity, even if they haven’t shopped around for an energy provider on their own. It can also be advantageous in the short term because it can be cancelled at any time, as opposed to other tariffs which typically come with longer contracts.

But the basic supply is comparatively expensive. According to Verivox, basic supply electricity currently goes for an average of 44.36 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), whereas the cheapest available rates on average come to 24.7 cents/kWh across Germany.

How much can you save?

At current rates, you can expect to save about 44 percent on your electricity bill if you switch from basic supply to the cheapest option with a price guarantee. 

That amounts to significant savings, considering that annual electricity costs regularly come to a few thousand euros in German households.

The Hamburger Abendblatt reported that a three-person household consuming 4,000 kWh would save an average of €786.

These prices will vary from provider to provider and from region to region. 

Keep in mind that choosing other tariff options often comes with some additional fees. Still, in many cases taking a look at different electricity tariff options can save households some money.

Also, switching tariffs is different from switching your energy provider. If you currently get basic supply electricity from Vattenfall, for example, you could potentially switch to a different tariff option while maintaining your business with them. But if you are between contracts, or currently on basic supply, you could also consider switching providers.

In this case, a comparison portal like Check24 can be useful to get an idea of which companies offer the best rates.

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