Germany's energy regulator, which is responsible for rationing gas in the event that Russia cuts or cuts off supplies, is compiling a list of supply suspensions for the country's industry based on six criteria.

“These include the urgency of the measure and the size of the company,” Klaus Mueller, head of the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Companies consuming more than 10 megawatt-hours per hour account for the majority of Germany's total industrial gas consumption, he said, including some 2,500 firms in Europe's advanced economies.

“Another aspect is the lead times; some companies need more time to shut down in an orderly fashion. Then there is the economic and business damage. In the ceramics industry, for example, production facilities ... break down when gas is missing,” Mueller said.