Russia has reduced gas supplies to Europe, prompting the largest European buyers to race in search of alternative fuels, with some not ruling out a return to coal due to the looming energy crisis if gas supplies are not replenished by winter.
Italian Eni announced that Russian Gazprom informed it that it would receive only part of the requested gas delivery on Monday, bringing the country one step closer to a state of readiness that will be initiated to implement gas-saving measures.
Germany, also facing reduced Russian gas supplies, reported on Sunday its latest plan to increase gas storage levels and announced that it might restart coal-fired power plants that it intended to phase out gradually.
– This is a sore point, but it is necessary at this moment to reduce gas consumption. If we do not do this, we risk that the storage facilities will not be sufficiently filled by the end of the year, according to the winter season, and then we could be politically blackmailed – said Economy Minister Robert Habeck, a member of the Green Party, which has advocated for a faster phase-out of coal-fired power plants due to their high greenhouse gas emissions.
On Monday, Russia reiterated that Europe is to blame for the gas crisis after the West imposed sanctions in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The energy crisis is an additional stumbling block for European lawmakers who are already concerned about rising household energy bills and food prices.
The CEO of Germany’s largest electricity producer RWE, Markus Krebber, said it could take three to five years for electricity prices to return to lower levels.
Russian gas flows to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the main route supplying the largest European economy, were still operating at about 40 percent capacity on Monday, although they have increased since the beginning of last week.
