#Europe #cowering #winter #Russian #gas
Wool socks and thermostats have been shut down: Europeans are preparing for a difficult winter without gas supplies from Russia, part of the aftermath of the war in Ukraine.
Latvians have been adjusting since late July, when Russia halted gas supplies to the former Soviet Baltic state.
They know what to expect in the coming months.
“Energy prices are so exorbitant that we have already shut off the city water supply and installed our own hot water boiler,” says Juons Ratiniks, who lives in the town of Rezekne near the Russian border.
“It’s cheaper to use it when we actually need it than to pay for constantly heated hot water,” the retired border guard explained.
Politicians need to understand that when their energy bills skyrocketed, people expected help, Ratiniks said.
With elections coming up in October, he warned: “You better support heating for us – otherwise we’ll give them heat!”
Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Poland have also already stopped supplying gas, while other countries have drastically reduced supplies.
Deliveries of Russian gas to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline will be halted for several days at the end of this month, the second disruption this summer. While it is said to be about maintenance work, Berlin has accused Moscow of cutting off supplies because of Western sanctions imposed over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Overall, July’s supply fell by around 70 percent year-on-year, according to several experts polled by AFP.
– “Global Energy Crisis” –
Governments across Europe are not happy at the prospect of cold radiators and factories being forced to shut down.
Many believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using energy supplies as a strategic weapon to pressure nations that have imposed sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
The supply disruption has pushed up prices for gas – and electricity – as many power plants run on it.
A surge in the price of oil has further complicated matters, although its value has declined somewhat recently.
“The world is experiencing the first truly global energy crisis in history,” Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, wrote last month.
“The situation is particularly dangerous in Europe, which is at the epicenter of the energy market turmoil.”
Natural gas is so important to so many countries – notably Germany, which needs it for its heavy industry – that it has been exempted from European sanctions against Russia.
Coal, on the other hand, is subject to a total embargo, while oil is subject to a progressive embargo.
– ‘Operating thermostat’ –
Gas supplies from Russia to Germany from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline have already been drastically curtailed.
“We now expect Russian gas flows to Europe via Nord Stream 1 to fluctuate between zero and 20 percent capacity in the coming months,” said Matt Oxenford of the Economist Intelligence Unit.
And that, he added, would result in a recession in Europe in the winter of 2022-2023.
“Given the current gas infrastructure, Germany cannot compensate for an 80 percent cut in Russian gas without a drastic drop in demand, which would lead to a recession over the winter,” he added.
And with Germany as the center of industrial supply chains, that would have a domino effect across Europe, Oxenford wrote.
Businesses will suffer cuts before budgets, and governments in France and Germany are already considering who will suffer first.
But even ordinary people are being told that they must adapt to the new reality.
The European Union has told its 27 member countries that they must reduce their gas consumption by 15 percent.
Italy introduced the so-called “operating thermostat” earlier this year to try to lower heating and reduce air conditioning in schools and public buildings. Spain and Germany have followed suit.
The focus of the German summer campaign was the reduction of air conditioning in public transport and the purchase of water-saving shower heads. Several cities have lowered the temperature in their swimming pools and made cuts in city lighting.
– Coal and LNG –
France has frozen gas prices for private individuals, but in Germany household bills are increasing by several hundred euros a year.
In view of the impending harsh winter, the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice center has never been so busy in its 40-year history.
Many people worried they would run out of electricity because they couldn’t pay the bills, spokesman Udo Sieverding said.
Some wanted to replace their oil or gas supply with solar panels, while others turned to coal, he added.
Renters need to put money aside early and talk to their landlords, he advised.
“Nevertheless, there will be many households that cannot afford the rising energy prices.”
Meanwhile, France is reviving an anti-litter campaign first launched in the 1970s.
Shops that use air conditioning, for example, must keep their doors closed – or face a fine.
Here, too, there has been a rush for coal, even though it is very polluting.
The French government has reconsidered the decision to close a coal-fired power plant, despite outcry from environmental activists.
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