Germany on Edge as Russian Gas Pipeline Goes Offline for Repair
“It’s simply a situation like we haven’t had before,” Robert Habeck, Germany’s economy minister, told German public radio Deutschlandfunk on Monday. “We honestly always have to prepare for the worst and work a little bit for the best.”

Chancellor Olaf Scholz convened the heads of big German companies in Berlin on Monday to discuss the impact that the war in Ukraine and the economic sanctions against Russia is having on their businesses. Industry leaders are faced with high energy prices and growing uncertainty while struggling to emerge from disruptions caused by pandemic shutdowns and supply chain snarls. Economists are predicting that a full gas cutoff could tip Germany, Europe’s largest economy, into a recession.

Over the weekend, Mr. Habeck reached an agreement with Canada for a turbine needed for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that had been sent to Montreal for repairs to be returned to Germany. The turbine’s return had been held up by sanctions against Russia, and Gazprom had cited the missing equipment as the reason it was forced to reduce supplies through the pipeline.

Even as Germans are flocking to the beaches and mountains for their summer vacations, the economy ministry is calling on them to begin servicing their furnaces, installing water-saving shower heads and preparing to lower their heating by at least one degree in the coming winter to save energy.