Majority of Germans confident energy supply to remain secure through winter – survey
BERLIN (Reuters) – Nearly two thirds of Germans believe that power supply in Europe’s biggest economy will remain secure over autumn and winter, a survey showed on Tuesday, as Berlin scrambles to compensate for falling Russian energy imports.
Despite the complete halt of Russian gas supplies to Germany though the now-defunct Nord Stream 1 pipeline, some 58% of Germans believe the government will secure enough gas supplies elsewhere, a survey published by RTL/ntv broadcasters showed.
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Only a third of Germans said they had taken precautions for a possible energy supply interruptions, such as buying electric heaters or wood stoves, the survey by research institute Forsa of 1,008 respondents found.
Falling Russian gas supplies has forced Berlin to shore up gas supplies from outside of Russia. Last month, Berlin signed a deal with the United Arab Emirates to deliver liquefied natural gas to Europe’s largest economy by the end of December.
The energy crunch has also pushed Germany to trigger an energy emergency plan and to open the possibility of extending the lifespan of its last three nuclear power plants until spring from originally planned year-end.
Some 68% of Germans are in favour of extending the nuclear power plants life until 2024, the RTL/ntv survey found.
(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa, Editing by Miranda Murray)