In Croatia, everything is ready for a reliable supply of natural gas during this winter, confirmed today at the Gas Day gathering by the Minister of Economy, Labor and Entrepreneurship Đuro Popijač and representatives of the companies Prirodni plin and Plinacro.
From all those in the gas business in Croatia, including the companies Prirodni plin and Plinacro, we have guarantees that everything will be fine this winter, that there will be no disruptions in supply or outages, emphasized Minister Popijač at the gathering traditionally organized by the Croatian Professional Association for Gas – HSUP. Reminding of the natural gas supply in last year’s season, Davorka Tancer from the company Prirodni plin emphasized that a similar situation is expected this winter season as well, which will of course depend on the number of days with lower temperatures. Given that last year 22,000 new users were connected (there are over 680,000 gas consumers in Croatia), a higher consumption can be expected, but this has already been planned and there is enough gas, she added. If temperatures drop to minus 10 or minus 12 degrees Celsius for some time, there will be enough gas, said Tancer.
This also depends on how long such low temperatures would last. In the case of any severe situations, protected customers, including households, would be supplied at the expense of large consumers, explains Tancer. She also highlighted that due to the expiration of the gas import contract with the Russian partner (Gazprom), they are working on a new one, and the novelty is the pre-bidding process through which they aim to achieve a better supplier with greater flexibility in delivery and better pricing. Croatia, she notes, is at an advantage compared to other countries in the Central Eastern European region, as it is not as heavily dependent on gas from Russia due to domestic production. Both Popijač and Tancer emphasize the importance of completing the new interconnector from Croatia to Hungary, which will enable Croatia to have new sources and supply routes and further open and liberalize the market. This will also allow gas prices to be formed in the market, and Croatia will gain a new, better position in the gas business in the region, they emphasized.
