TO His research to break Russian natural gas addiction, Europe will have to face its first great test in the coming weeks. It is expected that with the lowering of temperatures, the demand for energy carriers will increase against the background of insufficient supplies and high prices, and the countries are preparing for the most pessimistic scenario, including blackouts and energy regime, writes on the “Wall Street Journal”, mentioned from BTA.
Europe is as prepared as possible for a winter without Russian gas, but there is no room for errors.
The storage of the gas for heating and the production of electricity is almost exhausted, consumption is reduced and the supplies of liquefied natural gas are coming. Europe is in a stronger position than it was thought in recent months after Russia has cut gas supplies in response to western sanctions imposed on the invasion of Ukraine. But a lot can go wrong. A possible prolonged cold wave or the explosion of a gas pipeline could stop preparations, creating the threat of an emergency, current interruptions and an increasingly profound economic recession. Officials and analysts say that the will of consumers to reduce gas consumption will be fundamental in winter and even a possible mild climate would help, commented the publication.
“It will be a winter dominated by fear and uncertainty”,
He thinks, as reported by the newspaper, the Italian Minister of the ecological transition, Roberto Cingolani. “Apart from the catastrophes, like the extreme cold, if we keep consumption under control, we will overcome the winter. We just have to hope that nothing will go wrong,” he said.
However, many things can go wrong.
If a strong cold wave drastically increases the demand for energy, supplies could run out and prices could rise to record levels, inflicting a hard blow to companies and public finances. Low temperatures could also lead to a race to the Supplies of GNL between North America and Europe. A possible lack of wind can cause the slowdown of wind turbines and the particularly cloudy time would reduce the production of solar energy.
The weather forecast for this winter will become clearer in early November.
The first data suggest that a cold and windless climate is possible at the end of the year, followed by milder conditions at the beginning of 2023, observed the Wall Street Journal, citing the Copernicus Climate Change Office of the European Union.
Another danger is that gas supplies can decrease due to technical problems or political attacks.
The alleged sabotage of the North Stream Gasmodes under the Baltic Sea and the drones detected near the Norwegian gas platforms highlight the vulnerability of the energy infrastructure, underlines the publication.
Officials and analysts say that Russia could interrupt the remaining gases arriving through the gas pipelines through Ukraine and Turkey.
Other risks include possible prolonged arrests of French nuclear power plants,
which could increase the gas requirement to generate electricity.
Keeping low gas consumption is an important part of Europe’s winter plan. An unknown factor, however, is how consumers will react to a strongly increased price combination, requests to use less gases and government help measures aimed at reducing bills, commented on the newspaper.
As if Europe will get by this winter will help determine the extent of the looming crisis
with the gas after one year. Analysts believe that if the reserves decrease drastically, fill them in 2023 with little or no Russian gas will be extremely difficult, said the newspaper. At the beginning of this month, the French president Emmanuel Macron said: “We must prepare ourselves for next winter, which will be even more difficult”.
Few countries are taking more bold steps than France,
To protect their citizens from the impact of the energy crisis in Europe, but nevertheless the French are dissatisfied, writes the Washington Post.
The country was hit last week by a fuel deficiency that aroused public indignation.
It was caused by the refineries ‘workers’ strike asking for higher wages, in part because oil and gas companies are creating great profits from the increase in energy prices in Europe. However, the lack of fuel is becoming a strong catalyst for a wider attitude in society: this winter will be difficult, but only for those who do not have enough financial opportunities, observes the publication.
France is a country where social discontent is often expressed early and forcefully.
The French are particularly sensitive to any increase in the cost of living after Macron has undertaken large efforts to liberalize the economy over the past five years. However, the case of France is also an important warning for other European countries that its significant price ceilings go to the benefit of those who need it most, exacerbating the inequalities rather than dealing with them, commented on the newspaper.
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