Official Says Germany Can Last 2.5 Months without Russian Gas

"If the storage facilities in Germany were mathematically 100% full... we could do without Russian gas completely... for just about two-and-a-half months and then the storage tanks will be empty," he told the Maybrit Illner program Thursday on the German ZDF channel.

He said Germany needs to save gas and find new suppliers amid a supply crunch by Russia. 

During a separate interview with broadcaster RTL/ntv, he said consumer gas prices for Germans could triple.

Earlier on Thursday, Germany entered the second phase of its emergency gas plan, which would allow suppliers to pass on high costs to consumers, but only with the official approval of the Bundesnetzagentur.

Müller said if Germany enters the third phase of the plan, it would have "terrible and drastic" consequences for the gas industry. Under this phase, the Bundesnetzagentur would ration gas, prioritizing private households over energy firms.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck also told the newspaper Der Spiegel on Friday Germany could be forced to close down entire industrial sectors if there is a nationwide natural gas shortage.

“All factory activities will be suspended. It will be a disaster for some industries. And we are not talking about two days or weeks, but about a long time. We are talking about people, who will lose their jobs and regions that will lose entire industrial complexes,” Habeck said.

The minister insisted, however, that Germans are united in the face of these difficulties, support anti-Russia sanctions, and are ready to endure some degree of hardship.

Germany is heavily reliant on Russian gas. Although Germany and other EU member states have imposed an embargo on Russian oil in response to the invasion of Ukraine, Berlin has shied away from implementing a ban on Russian gas imports.

Russian state-run energy giant Gazprom said earlier this month it would further reduce gas supplies to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Gazprom has also reduced gas deliveries to France and Italy amid Western sanctions on Russia.

In order to diversify its energy strategy away from Russian sources, Germany recently signed a gas partnership with Qatar. Germany is also firing up coal plants to become more self-sufficient, despite the environmental drawbacks.