Europe's biggest buyers of Russian gas yesterday scrambled to find alternative fuel supplies and considered burning coal to cope with a cut in gas supplies from Russia that threatens to worsen an energy crisis over the winter if storage is not replenished.
Germany, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands have hinted that coal-fired power plants could help the continent weather a crisis that has seen gas prices skyrocket and exacerbate the challenges facing governments as they try to curb inflation and a worsening economic forecast.
The Dutch government announced yesterday that it will lift restrictions on the production of coal-fired power plants and activate the first phase of the plan for the energy crisis. Denmark also initiated the first step of the crisis plan due to the uncertainty surrounding the Russian supply.
The Italian company ENI.MI announced yesterday that it was informed by the Russian Gazprom GAZP.MM that it will receive only part of the requested gas quantities, as a result of which the country is one step closer to declaring a state of emergency that would activate gas saving measures.
Germany, which has also seen cuts to Russian gas, announced on Sunday that it plans to increase gas storage capacity and indicated that it may restart coal-fired power plants it had planned to phase out.
"It is painful, but in this situation it is simply necessary to reduce gas consumption," said the German Minister of Economy Robert Habeck, a member of the Green Party, which advocates a faster end to the use of coal, which produces more harmful gases.
"However, if we do not do this, then we will face the risk that the storage facilities will not be full enough ahead of the winter season. Then we would be easy targets for blackmail at the political level," he said.
The Dutch monthly contract for gas, a European parameter, was around 124 euros yesterday, which is less than the record 335 euros it reached this year, but still more than 300 percent higher than last year's level, when prices began to skyrocket. are growing.
CEO of the largest German electricity producer RWE RWEG.DE, Marcus Kreber, said that it could take three years for energy prices to fall.
The flow of Russian gas to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, the main route that supplies Europe's largest economy, took place yesterday at about 40 percent of capacity, although it was increased compared to the beginning of last week.
Ukraine, a transit route for Russian gas, has said its pipelines can help fill supply holes via Nord Stream 1. Moscow has previously said it cannot pump more through pipelines that Ukraine has not yet shut down.
The Italian Eni and the German company Uniper UNO1.DE are among the European companies that announced that they are receiving smaller quantities of gas than stipulated in the contract, although European gas storages are still being filled, but much slower.
Yesterday, 54 percent were filled compared to the European Union's goal of 80 percent by October and 90 percent by November.
The German Minister of Economy said that the return to operation of coal-fired power plants could contribute 10 gigawatts of capacity in case the gas supply reaches a critical level. The law relating to the move will be sent to the upper house of parliament on July 8.
German Economy Minister Robert Habek said that the return to operation of coal-fired power plants is painful, but necessary in order to reduce gas consumption.
In addition to the return to coal, the new German measures include an auction system, which will start in the coming weeks to encourage the industry to use less gas, and financial help for the German gas operator to fill the storages as soon as possible.
The German company RWE announced yesterday that it could extend the operations of three power plants that work on brown coal and produce 300 megawatts if needed during the gas supply crisis.
On Sunday, the Austrian government agreed with the Verbund.VI company to switch the gas-fired power plant to coal if necessary.
The Dutch public broadcaster NOS announced yesterday, citing government sources, that thermal power plants in the Netherlands were allowed to increase production in order to reduce dependence on Russian gas.
Russia's state-owned Gazprom last Sunday cut capacity through Nord Stream 1, which supplies Germany and other countries, citing a delay in returning equipment serviced in Canada by Germany's Siemens Energy SIEGn.DE.
"We have gas, it is ready for delivery, but the Europeans must return the equipment, which they must repair in accordance with their obligations," said the Kremlin spokesman. Dmitry Peskov.
German and Italian officials said Russia was using it as an excuse to cut shipments.
Italy, whose technical gas committee meets today, said it could declare a heightened state of alert this week if Russia continues to cut supplies.
The move could trigger consumption-shifting measures, including restricting gas to certain industrial users, boosting output at thermal power plants and demands for increased gas imports from other suppliers under existing contracts.
The European Union aims to shift to renewable energy sources over time to reduce emissions, but is now faced with rising prices and a return to more polluting fuels.
"If there is a way to quickly reduce dependence on Russian gas without further fueling inflation and a severe recession caused by rising energy prices... we don't see it," announced the analyst company Timera Energy.
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