Free Republic

... The stand-off with Russia has forced countries like Germany to find supplies elsewhere, and its stores have increased from less than half full in June to 84% full today. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told journalists Germany would get through the winter, adding that Russia was "no longer a reliable energy partner". He said the government would make one-off payments to pensioners, people on benefits and students. There would also be caps on energy bills. Some 9,000 energy-intensive businesses would receive tax breaks to the tune of €1.7bn. A windfall tax on energy company profits would also be used to...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Energy problems plagued Ukraine and Europe as much of the Russian-occupied region that's home to a largely crippled nuclear power plant was reported temporarily in blackout Sunday.Only one of six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia facility was connected to the electricity grid, and Russia’s main pipeline carrying natural gas to Germany remained shut down.The fighting in Ukraine and related disputes over pipelines lie behind the electricity and natural gas shortfalls that have worsened as Russia's war in Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, grinds on for a seventh month.Both issues will take center stage this week. U.N....

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer backs a European Union-wide cap on runaway electricity prices, he said in a statement issued by his office on Sunday. Austria's conservative-led government was initially sceptical at the idea of capping power prices but it has warmed to the idea as they have continued to rise in line with soaring gas prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "We must finally stop the madness that is taking place in energy markets. And that can only happen through a European solution," the statement quoted Nehammer as saying, adding that he would seek to convince holdouts in the bloc....

Economic war with Russia is likely to keep prices high and send growth into reverse but specter of rationing is fading. There is no end in sight for Europe’s surge in energy prices. That could be just what the continent needs to avoid the devastating effects of having to ration natural gas this winter. This is because prices are so high—many times their level from last year—that they are forcing Europeans to save fuel and secure alternative supplies. That has resulted in rising gas reserves and a higher likelihood that the economy will shrink but not crash outright in the...

MOSCOW. Aug 22 (Interfax) - Germany, Europe's leading gas market, has reaching its minimum target of stocking 80% of underground gas storage (UGS) capacity. However, the EU's primary economy intends to continue active gas injection ahead of the coming winter. The gas transit request via Ukraine was unchanged from previous days and months. UKRAINE TRANSIT Gas Transport System Operator of Ukraine or GTSOU has accepted a request from Gazprom for Monday to transport 41.6 million cubic meters of gas through the country, data from GTSOU show. The request for Sunday was 42.2 million cubic meters. Capacity was requested only through...

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which supplies gas from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea, will be shut down for three days from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 as its only remaining gas compressor requires maintenance, Gazprom said on Friday. The closure will bring further disruption to Europe's gas supplies with the pipeline already running at only 20% of its capacity, with Gazprom previously citing the need to repair other compressors, and fears Russia could halt supplies completely heading into the winter heating season. After maintenance is complete, flows of 33 million cubic metres (mcm) a day - in...

Those taking the German government to task over the ongoing gas crisis have been branded the “new enemies of the state” by one government minister in the country. An ostensibly “centrist” minister in Germany has branded those looking to hold officials accountable for their chronic mismanagement of the country as the “new enemies of the state”. The minister — who is a member of former chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party — made the claim as authorities in the country begin to fear significant backlash for gas shortages in the winter, with one official saying that he is...

Now there's a growing sense that Europe might not only meet its gas targets but also exceed them... Injections to Europe’s gas storage are running about nine weeks ahead of last year... European gas storage levels are above 70%, and have even surpassed the 5-year average. By November 1st, the EU will likely hit 80% natural gas storage capacity (its goal) – in time for peak winter demand. Germany is even aiming for 95% capacity, and is already at 75%... Indeed, analysts at Standard Chartered Plc are saying that President Vladimir Putin’s gas weapon will be effectively blunted by the...

Vladimir Putin has waged an energy war on Europe. The general running his campaign is ultra-loyalist and Gazprom PJSC boss Alexei Miller. ... Handicapping Gazprom is Mr. Miller’s decision over the past decade not to enter the market for liquefied-natural gas—a choice that left Gazprom, unlike Russian rival Novatek JSC, near totally reliant on pipelines to export fuel. Gazprom has limited options in the short term to redirect its gas to China and other buyers given its traditionally westward-facing infrastructure. One pipeline to China opened in 2019, but it can’t handle much gas. A second is under negotiation but won’t...

European natural gas inventories rose by +102 BCF over past 7 days. EU nat gas storage 73% full. Current inventories at 2793 BCF. 23.0% higher than 1 year ago. EU goal is at least 80% full by Nov 1st for winter.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda assures that the country will not be short of natural gas in winter thanks to the supplies ensured by the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Klaipeda. On Saturday, asked by the Laluna radio station whether Lithuania would ensure adequate supplies of gas for the cold season, he answered: “We certainly will, the [FSRU] Independence is definitely a crucial element of our energy independence.” “We made completely correct and, most importantly, timely decisions ensuring independence from Russia’s energy resources,” he added. In late June, Lithuania passed a law banning Russian natural gas imports into the country,...

Germany could be forced to scrap Oktoberfest celebrations and its famous Christmas markets as officials desperately search for ways to save energy after Russia began throttling gas supplies to Europe. Hanover yesterday became the first major city on the continent to announce it will turn off all hot water in public buildings to conserve energy, while Berlin has begun dimming streetlights and Augsburg has turned off public water fountains.

Hanover first big city to ban hot water and central heating in public buildings.. Lights to be switched off at night on major buildings like museums and town hall .. Germans told to expect higher electricity bills and sweeping gas rationing.. Move is a response to Vladimir Putin's gas squeeze which has Europe panicking.. Russian state energy giant Gazprom cut gas supplies to Germany to 20 per cent . ... The Germany city of Hanover has become the first big city in Europe to ban hot water and central heating in public buildings ... The drastic step comes as Germans...

Germany’s economy hasn’t grown for nearly five years. Its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic has been weaker than any major advanced economy. Its ability to fill its energy needs is in question. And now the country once known as the economic engine of Europe is teetering on the brink of a recession. It’s a sharp turn of fortunes for Germany’s large manufacturing sector, which flourished over the past two decades just as other Western nations saw industrial jobs migrate to Asia. Germany’s big and long-successful bet on manufacturing relied on four engines: Free and open global trade, surging demand from...

BERLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Russia delivered less gas to Europe on Wednesday in a further escalation of an energy stand-off between Moscow and the European Union that will make it harder, and costlier, for the bloc to fill up storage ahead of the winter heating season. The cut in supplies, flagged by Gazprom earlier this week, has reduced the capacity of Nord Stream 1 pipeline - the major delivery route to Europe for Russian gas - to a mere fifth of its total capacity. On Wednesday, physical flows via Nord Stream 1 tumbled to 14.4 million kilowatt hours per hour (kWh/h)...

Germany's leading energy expert says she's living in a nightmare. What's worse, she saw it coming. Germany had vowed to ditch coal but is now restarting mothballed, coal-fired power stations For 15 years Claudia Kemfert says she tried to warn politicians and the public that the country was too reliant on Russian energy. Until recently Germany bought more than half of its gas from Russia. She advised Berlin to find other sources and focus more on renewables. And she warned against the construction of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline through which Germany receives much of its gas. "That's what I...

Russian President Vladimir Putin can afford to cut off natural-gas exports to Europe thanks to ample revenues from other commodities, but such a move would come with longer-term risks for Russia’s sanctions-stricken economy and its prolific energy industry. Earlier this week, Moscow resumed gas supplies via the Nord Stream pipeline after annual maintenance ended, easing worries in Europe that Mr. Putin would further crimp exports at a time when the continent is filling up its storage ahead of winter. The restarted pipeline, however, is pumping at just 40% capacity, after a separate, still-unresolved technical issue that Moscow blames on Western...

Today I am risking being too glib, but my excuse is aspiring to meet the Einstein standard, “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.” It’s not hard to see that as rough as economic conditions are now, they are set to get worse. And it’s not hard to see that despite the considerable blowback from the sanctions against Russia, the West is not going to relent. Here’s a simple baseline forecast. Russia wins in Ukraine. The West may try to define it somehow as not a victory, but it’s hard to see how Russia does not take the...

The Germans aren’t laughing now. In fact, gas prices are so high in Germany today that wood-burning stoves and firewood have become scarce nationwide. German citizens are loading up on wood to heat their homes next year — just like they did in the Middle Ages.

Some landlords in Germany are rationing hot water and will turn down the heating as Europe's largest economy battles soaring energy costs due to reduced supplies of Russian natural gas. German real estate company, Vonovia, said it would lower tenants' heating during the night to cut costs. In a statement sent to Insider, the company said the move was designed to "save as much gas as possible," adding that reducing temperatures between 11pm and 6am would reduce heating costs by about 8%. Some tenants in Dippoldiswalde, Saxony, will only be able to take a hot shower between 4am and 8am,...