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NORD STREAM

Nord Stream 2 pipeline has stopped leaking gas under Baltic Sea: spokesman

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is no longer leaking under the Baltic Sea because an equilibrium has been reached between the gas and water pressure, a spokesman told AFP.

Published: 1 October 2022 20:09 CEST
nord stream 1 gas terminal
This file photo from 2011 shows a view of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline terminal. Gas leaks identified on the twin Nord Stream 2 pipeline have now stopped. Photo: John MACDOUGALL / AFP

“The water pressure has more or less closed the pipeline so that the gas which is inside can’t go out,” Nord Stream 2 spokesman Ulrich Lissek said.

“The conclusion is that there is still gas in the pipeline,” he added.

Asked how much gas was believed to be in the pipeline, Lissek said: “That is the one-million-dollar question.”

Information on the status of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline leak, which was significantly larger, was not immediately available.

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which connect Russia to Germany, have been at the centre of geopolitical tensions as Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions following Moscow’s
invasion of Ukraine.

While the pipelines are not currently in operation, they both still contained gas before they fell victim to apparent sabotage, producing four leaks.

Nord stream leak site

One of the Nord Stream leak sites photographed by the Swedish Coast Guard. A Danish-Swedish report said on Friday that the leaks were caused by blasts equal to “several hundred kilos of TNT”. Photo: Swedish Coast Guard.
Gas nearly exhausted

A Danish-Swedish report released on Friday concluded the leaks were caused by underwater explosions corresponding to hundreds of kilogrammes of explosives.

“All available information indicates that those explosions are the result of a deliberate act,” the countries said.

The source of the explosions has remained a mystery, however, with both Moscow and Washington denying responsibility.

All the leaks, which were discovered on Monday, are in the Baltic Sea off the Danish island of Bornholm.

Two of the leaks are located in the Swedish exclusive economic zone, and the two others in the Danish one.

Lissek said Nord Stream 2 had informed the Danish energy regulator earlier Saturday that the pipeline had stopped leaking gas.

Danish authorities had said the leaks would continue until the gas in the pipelines is exhausted, which is expected to occur on Sunday.

The Swedish coastguard said late Friday that the leaks on Nord Stream 2 showed signs of weakening due to the exhaustion of the gas contained in the pipes.

The diameter of the sea surface “boiling” caused by the leak in the Swedish exclusive economic zone was now only 20 metres (66 feet) wide, 10 times smaller than at the start.

The leak on Nord Stream 1 had also started to weaken on Friday, with surface diameter down to 600 metres in diameter, down from between 900 and 1,000 metres on Monday.

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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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