BERLIN, November 7. /TASS/: The Minister-President of the German state of Bavaria Markus Soder has urged to launch the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as soon as possible to ensure stable gas supplies ahead of the cold season.
"A wise strategy to ensure power supplies is necessary. In this regard, there are good reasons to launch the Nord Stream 2 pipeline soon to bring gas prices to a normal level," Soder said in an interview with Funke Mediengruppe, published on Sunday. "We cannot just stand aside and watch prices growing ahead of the cold winter," he added.
In his words, "people are expecting a quick solution" to the issue.
"We are withdrawing from coal and nuclear power generation, and the lack of resources is becoming more and more severe. Prices grow, and our demand for electricity rises due to digitalization and use of electric vehicles. In this regard, we need stations that generate power from gas," the official continued. "Nord Stream 2 could become a reliable foundation for stable gas supplies to Germany."
The construction of Nord Stream 2 was fully completed on September 10. Before pumping can commence, the operator of the project should submit certificates of technical norms conformance to the Stralsund mining authority. It should also be registered as an independent transport operator - the Federal grid agency is to issue certification by January 8, 2022. The agency cannot prohibit gas pumping, but if it starts before the registration is finalized the operator will be fined. This registration is obligatory for meeting the norms of the EU Gas Directive.
The Russian side has repeatedly stressed that Nord Stream 2 is an entirely commercial project that is being implemented jointly with European partners. Speaking at the plenary session of the Russian Energy Week on October 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed allegations that Russia uses energy issues as weapons as politically-motivated idle talk. "Even in the most difficult periods of the Cold War, Russia always implemented its contract liabilities in full and supplied gas to Europe," he said.
