MNI BRIEF: NS1 Work Triggering Alert Mechanism Talk Premature

Gazprom’s announcement of a 3-day closure of its Nordstream 1 gas pipeline is unlikely by itself to trigger the EU’s Alert Mechanism, an EU Commission spokesperson indicated today. Gazprom announced on Friday that there would be a three-day maintenance shutdown of NS1 between Aug 31 and Sep 2.

“The announcement we have seen is for a 3-day interruption to deliveries, so I think it’s a bit premature that would have the kind of impact that would trigger an alert,” the Commission spokesperson said. Triggering the EU’s Alert Mechanism could lead to mandatory cuts in energy consumption. The EU has also set itself the target of filling gas storage capacity by 80% by the beginning of November.

Gas prices continue to rise and remain a threat to the eurozone economy. Klaus Adam, an advisor to the Berlin government, told MNI recently that energy prices would be key to the severity of Germany's downturn this year. (See MNI INTERVIEW2: See German Fiscal Curbs Despite Recession Risk)