Gazprom to cut gas through Nord Stream 1 to 20% of capacity

BERLIN (AP) — Russia’s Gazprom says it would further reduce natural gas flows through a major pipeline to Europe to 20% of capacity, citing equipment repairs. The move announced Monday escalates tensions over energy supplies that are dwindling just as the continent is trying to shore up its storage for winter. The Russian state-owned company tweeted that it would reduce “the daily throughput” of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany to 33 million cubic meters as of Wednesday. The head of Germany’s network regulator confirmed the reduction. Gazprom said the drop was because it was shutting down a second turbine for repairs. The German government said it rejected the notion that technical reasons would lead to more gas reductions.