The Engie group, the leading gas supplier in France and one of the largest in Europe, warns that it would not be able to replace all the gas imported from Russia if the flow were to be interrupted and suggests that in that case they would have to put demand limitations.
Its CEO, Catherine MacGregor, considers in an interview published this Monday by Les Échos that in this scenario “unpublished” The markets could not function without intervention, for example a capping of wholesale gas prices in Europe which would in turn cap those of electricity, which are linked.
One of his proposals to reduce consumption, in line with the recommendations of the International Energy Agency (IEA), would be to ask the French to reduce the temperature of their heating by one degree. That would save 10 to 15 terawatt hours of gas.
The countries of the European Union contemplate, among others, the possibility of stopping importing Russian gas and oil in a new train of sanctions for the war in Ukraine. The issue will be on the agenda of the summit to be held in Versailles (France) next Thursday and Friday.
MacGregor explains that stopping buying Russian gas would have “very important consequences, immediately for energy prices, and from next winter for customers, both industrial and private”.
In the case of France, there would be no supply problems this winter, but next winter, because although the capacities of the liquefied gas (LNG) regasification unit in Fos Cavaou, near Marseille, are being increased, the mechanisms available They are “limited in scope.”
“They will not be enough to replace all the gas that now comes from Russia”, he stresses.
Russian gas accounts for 20% of Engie’s sales worldwide and the CEO emphasizes that deliveries from its supplier Gazprom “they continue to arrive normally in France and Europe”.
Engie is an investor in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which connects Russia with Germany through the Baltic and is subject to war sanctions that have prevented its entry into operation. If it went bankrupt, it could cost Engie around €1 billion.
The French company is a 9% shareholder of Nord Stream 1, another gas pipeline that also transports Russian gas through the Baltic to Germany, which has been in service for years and is not affected by these sanctions for now.
Source: Gestion
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