Lantos: Gas supplies secure this winter
There is no risk as far as the security of gas supplies is concerned this winter, the minister for energy affairs said after a meeting of the operative group for energy emergency on Friday.
Csaba Lantos said that during the 12 months up to the end of September, gas consumption totalled 8.3 billion cubic metres, a 20 percent drop from the same period of the previous year. Gas storage facilities are 98 percent full, and the 6.5 billion cubic metres of gas available covers two-thirds of annual demand, he added.
Calculations for the heating season show that back-up reserves need not be used even if consumption returns to the previous level, he said. Undisturbed supplies to domestic consumers can be guaranteed this winter even if supply routes drop out permanently, he added.
The operative group was also briefed about preparations for programmes to encourage the storage of green energy by domestic and industrial users, he said.
