Russian mouthpiece provides warning to Europe amid energy crisis
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European benchmark energy prices surpassed €500 for the first time, escalating the continent's energy crisis. Germany's electricity costs one year ahead rose to €502 today, largely due to war-affected gas prices in Ukraine.
The news worries a possible blackout during the winter as gas-starved Germany struggles to make up for energy shortages.
Output from French reactors is set to its lowest in decades, and hydropower output is also low in several other countries.
The recent heatwave in Europe has It's also helping boost demand with an energy crisis that threatens to push several European countries into recession.
As a ripple effect, dry weather has caused some rivers to droop or dry up. In particular, the Rhine has become unnavigable in places, meaning coal-carrying barges cannot reach power plants.
This could put pressure on plants to use more of Germany's dangerously scarce natural gas there is.
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline is currently operating at only 20% capacity while the route through Ukraine is closed by Kyiv.
The eurozone's largest economy is now scrambling to replace Russian gas with liquefied natural gas (LNG), and over the winter he will also supply two offshore floating LNG terminals. have secured a contract to maintain
But this is likely to be a costly stopgap measure - Berlin has already warned about gas rationing, but Gazprom said gas prices could rise by up to 60% today.
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Global demand for LNG soared as economies around the world opened up following the Covid 19 pandemic - The war in Ukraine has further increased its demand.
News broke today that a second oil tanker has left the US Gulf of Mexico for Germany.
Europe has pledged to cut Russian oil by 90% of hers by the end of this year and has turned to the United States, which has fields that produce similar types of oil as Russia.
Some German cities have already turned off the lights in public buildings and distributed hot water to save electricity.
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His mayor of Hannover city Belit Onay tweeted: "The goal is to reduce energy consumption by 15%.
This is a response to the impending gas shortage, which poses a major challenge for local governments, especially for large cities like Hannover."
Other major cities such as Munich, Leipzig, Cologne and Nuremburg have also adopted.
As Europe struggles to conserve electricity, fears loom large that Russia will cut power completely over the winter.
