Central and local authorities have been tasked with assessing the functionality in the event of an emergency in the natural gas market.
According to the decision of the National Commission for Emergency Situations, the central and local authorities will develop plans for ensuring functionality within 30 days, which should include measures to save energy resources, create and manage state energy resources, adapt alternative technical solutions to meet the needs in the cold season and other measures, which will help to manage the crisis situation that has arisen in the natural gas market. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development will ensure the work of an operational working group, which will determine the necessary measures in order to prevent the deterioration of the situation in the energy sector, as well as assess the need for the purchase of fuel oil for the Combined heat and power plant. The working group will report on the results achieved every Friday. Within 30 days, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development will provide the Ministry of Finance with an assessment of the impact of growth in household spending in an emergency on the natural gas market. The General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations should prepare autonomous means of providing electricity and heat. In addition, the institution will prepare a project for applying for international assistance through the available tools, which, if necessary, will be activated by a government decision. The Ministry of Health will assess the needs of providers of medical services and provide a platform for ongoing interaction with all medical institutions involved in the compulsory medical insurance system. The Ministry of Defense is put on high alert. The Ministry of Education and Research, together with local authorities, will within 14 days assess the possibility of educational institutions operating in an emergency on the gas market and develop alternative scenarios for organizing training (suspension of work, transfer to distance learning). Local commissions for emergency situations within 30 days must prepare settlements and all local services for the cold period of the year in an emergency situation on the natural gas market, including providing for savings and the creation of energy reserves, the use of alternative solutions, etc. for emergencies introduced a high alert regime in the natural gas market. To respond to the situation, the commission was guided by the measures provided for in the Regulation on Emergencies in the Natural Gas Market (approved by the government in 2019). The introduced high availability level in the natural gas market is the second most difficult (the first is the early warning level, the third is the emergency level). It is introduced if there is an extremely high demand for natural gas, or if the supply of natural gas has been interrupted, or there are circumstances affecting the supply of natural gas, but the market is still able to manage demand without the need for non-market-based measures.// 15.10.2021 — InfoMarket
