Germany is stepping up preparations for a gas emergency that would require rationing for the country’s biggest companies this winter as Russia’s squeezes flows to Europe. In a sign of growing urgency, the regulator will next Wednesday present to lawmakers a digital security platform to identify the “non-protected” consumers that will bear the brunt of rationing. That includes Germany’s 2,500 biggest gas users, which must register on Bundesnetzagentur’s platform by the end of October. Should a deterioration in market conditions trigger an emergency after the winter heating season starts next month, the regulator would ... (full story)