Record high gas prices in European countries affect the cost of electricity, which, in turn, can lead to serious consequences. The Swedish edition Svenska Dagbladet writes about this on September 27.
According to Arne Esterlind, an energy market consultant at Shepherd Energy, the main reason for the current problems is the reduction in gas supplies. The expert called the volume of transit capacities booked by Moscow for October “unusually small”.
Another problem of European energy, Esterlind called dependence on the weather, given the prevalence of wind and hydroelectric power plants. An important role was also played by the decline in gas supplies from the United States, since a significant share was bought, in particular, by Brazil. At the same time, representatives of the Swedish power grid operator Svenska Kraftnät have not yet fixed problems with electricity, but its cost also increased against the background of rising gas prices, the expert added.
“If a cold winter happens in Europe, it will be a disaster. We are getting closer and closer to the edge, ”said Esterlind, suggesting that in the event of a deficit, the EU countries will most likely have to resort to local power outages.
Earlier, on September 26, Europe announced a possible extension of the energy crisis until winter. According to the European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, the rise in electricity prices in the EU is due to the rise in gas prices, as well as difficulties in the transition to “green” energy.
On the same day, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that Gazprom is ready to increase gas supplies to Europe. At the same time, he pointed out the difficulties with pumping gas into underground storage facilities in Europe. The Kremlin spokesman also noted that gas consumers in Europe are Russia’s main partners. He added that the company fully fulfills its obligations and “no one has absolutely any claims.”
Since the spring of 2021, gas prices in Europe have already quadrupled, reaching even $ 970 per 1,000 cubic meters. It was noted that one of the key reasons was the low stock in European underground gas storage facilities (UGS). Another factor is the acute shortage of liquefied natural gas.
On September 17, Gazprom indicated that the company carries out all supplies to European countries within the framework of the concluded contracts. They also added that the supplier seeks to satisfy requests for additional supplies due to existing capabilities.