Germany, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands have all signaled that coal-fired power plants could help see the continent through a crisis that has pushed up gas prices and added to the challenge. policy makers battling inflation. Italy’s Eni said it had been informed by Russia’s Gazprom that it would only receive part of its request for gas supplies on Monday, pushing the country closer to sounding the alarm that would trigger gas-saving measures. Germany, which also experienced lower Russian flows, announced on Sunday its latest plan to boost gas storage levels and said it could restart coal-fired power plants aimed at phasing out. “This is painful, but there is an urgent need in this situation to reduce gas consumption,” said Economy Minister Robert Habeck, a member of the Greens who has pushed for a faster exit from coal, which produces more greenhouse gases. Russian-owned Gazprom, whose logo can be seen here, told Italian energy company Eni that Italy would only take part in its request for gas supplies. (Reuters) “But if we do not, then we run the risk that the storage facilities will not be full enough at the end of the year towards the winter season. And then we are politically blackmailed.” Russia on Monday reiterated its previous criticism that Europe blames only itself for Western sanctions in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which is a transit route for gas to Europe and a major grain exporter. The gas contract with the Netherlands, the European benchmark, traded around € 124 ($ 170 Cdn) per megawatt-hour (MWh) on Monday, below this year’s ceiling of € 335 ($ 458 Cdn), but still rising more from 300 percent to its level a year ago, before prices began to skyrocket.
Slowly replenishing stocks
Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE, Germany’s largest electricity producer, said electricity prices could take three to five years to fall back to lower levels. Russian gas flows to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the main road that feeds Europe’s largest economy, continued to operate at about 40 percent of capacity on Monday, although they had risen since the beginning of last week. Ukraine has said its pipelines could help fill any supply gaps through Nord Stream 1. Moscow has previously said it could not pump more through pipelines that Ukraine has not already closed. The pipes at the Nord Stream 1 gas discharge plant are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, on March 8. (Hannibal Hanschke / Reuters) Eni and German utility company Uniper were among the European companies that said they received less than conventional volumes of Russian gas, although Europe’s gas reserves are still running low, albeit at a slower pace. It was about 54 percent full on Monday against the European Union target of 80 percent by October and 90 percent by November. The German Ministry of Economy said that the restoration of coal-fired power stations could add up to 10 gigawatts of power if gas supplies reach critical levels. A law related to traffic goes to the upper house of parliament on July 8. Along with the return to coal, the latest German measures include an auction system starting in the coming weeks to encourage industry to consume less gas and financial aid to the German gas market operator, through state lender KfW, to fill up faster. gas storage facilities. RWE said Monday it could extend the operation of three 300-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plants if required during the gas crisis.
Russia blames the West
The Austrian government agreed with utility company Verbund on Sunday to convert a gas-fired power plant to coal-fired power if the country faces an energy emergency. OMV said on Monday that Austria was going to receive half the amount of gas that is usual for a second day. The Dutch broadcaster NOS reported on Monday that coal-fired power plants in the Netherlands would be able to boost production to help with their dependence on Russian gas, citing government sources. The Dutch Minister of Energy was to make an announcement on gas supplies at 15:30 GMT. Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom cut capacity last week along Nord Stream 1, a major pipeline that supplies Germany and others, citing the delayed return of equipment served by Germany’s Siemens Energy to Canada. “We have gas, it is ready to be delivered, but the Europeans must return the equipment, which will have to be repaired according to their obligations,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov. German and Italian officials said Russia was using it as an excuse to cut supplies. Italy, whose gas technical committee is expected to meet on Tuesday, said it could declare an increased gas alert this week if Russia continues to cut supplies. The move will trigger measures to reduce consumption, including limiting gas for selected industrial users, increasing production at coal-fired power plants and the demand for more gas imports from other suppliers under existing contracts.
