Germany sounded the first official alarm about gas supplies on Wednesday, as the country comes to grips with the reality that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is very likely to disrupt its energy supplies to some degree.
"A crisis room will now be established in the ministry," Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a press conference after G-7 countries rejected Russia's demand for payments in rubles.
"There are no current supply bottlenecks," said Habeck. "But we have to ramp up our precautionary measures to be ready in case of an escalation from the Russian side."
Habeck's decision puts the country on an early alert, as detailed in its emergency gas supply plan. The three-stage emergency plan details ways to conserve gas, secure supplies and make sure households have adequate amounts of fuel.
Gas reserves were currently at 25% of capacity, the minister said, adding that a stop to deliveries from Russia would have "serious" consequences, though supplies continued to flow.
An emergency team is now being assembled to review Germany's options. At the moment, no systems to establish government oversight of distribution are being set up, though it should be the emergency level rise.
"This means all gas consumers – from businesses to private households – have to reduce their usage as much as possible," he said.
The invasion of Ukraine has prompted a series of sanctions on Russia that have left it scrambling for foreign currency reserves. However, Europe has not cut off its purchases of oil and gas.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia will soon only accept payments in rubles, likely an effort to bolster its currency.
The Kremlin reiterated on Tuesday that it will only be accepting payment in rubles for gas deliveries to the European Union – after G-7 ministers called this arrangement "unacceptable."
"We are not going to accept a breach of the private contracts" for gas deliveries, Habeck said in his press conference.
Germany is highly dependent on Russian gas for its energy needs, with 55% of its supplies coming through pipelines from the country before the invasion of Ukraine.
Since the outbreak of the war, Germany has accelerated plans to wean itself off Russian gas and diversify its supplies.
Should the situation require Germany to implement its highest warning level, officials would likely take over distribution to make sure gas was available for "protected customers," which means households, hospitals, fire companies and the police.
