Germany must cut its gas use by a fifth to avoid a crippling gas shortage this winter, its top network regulator said, as businesses and households brace themselves for Europe’s biggest energy crisis in a generation.

Klaus Müller, head of the federal network agency (BNA), will be in charge of rationing gas supplies if Europe’s largest economy suffers a winter energy crunch. “If we fail to reach our target [of 20 per cent gas savings] then there is a serious risk that we will not have enough gas,” he told the Financial Times.

Müller said Germany would also need about 10 gigawatts of extra gas supply from other sources to make up for the missing volumes from Russia — largely liquefied natural gas from countries such as the US. That represents about 9 percent of its current gas consumption.

He said Germany will also have to rely on imports of gas from other European countries.

Müller also warned that the longer-term cost of ending Germany’s dependence on Russia would be a “very high gas price” that could have big consequences for business.

“Some production could move away from Germany because gas has become too expensive,” he said. “And that’s a difficult thing to happen.”

Germany has feared a looming fuel crisis since Russia’s gas giant Gazprom throttled supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in mid-June, citing technical problems. The main conduit for delivery of Russian gas to Europe is operating at just 20 percent capacity.

The decline in deliveries has pushed up gas prices, with the European benchmark rising from around €66 per megawatt hour at the start of the year to €206 (as of Friday afternoon). It has also played havoc with Germany’s attempts to fill its gas storage ahead of winter when demand rises.

Germany has accused Russia of “weaponizing” its energy exports, as part of a backlash against sanctions imposed over Russian president Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Over the weekend, Germany’s economy ministry ordered all companies and local authorities to reduce the minimum room temperature in their workspaces to 19 degrees C over the winter.