On Monday, Europe’s top Russian gas customers hurried to find other fuel supplies and warned that they may have to burn more coal to deal with lower gas flows from Russia, which may lead to an energy catastrophe in the winter if supplies are not replenished.
Countries like Italy, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands have all indicated that coal-fired power plants could help the continent get through a crisis that has sent gas prices soaring and compounded policymakers’ struggle to combat inflation.
On Monday, the Dutch government announced that it would lift a production cap on coal-fired power plants and launch the first phase of an energy crisis plan.
Due to Russian supply uncertainties, Denmark has also started the first phase of an emergency gas plan.
After oil giant Eni was notified by Russia’s Gazprom that it would only get part of its request for gas supply on Monday, Italy came closer to declaring a state of energy alert.
Germany has unveiled its latest proposal to increase gas storage levels and said it may restart coal-fired power stations that it had planned to phase down due to lower Russian flows.
‘It’s terrible, but it’s an absolute necessity in this scenario,’ said Economy Minister Robert Habeck, a Green Party member who has pushed for a faster transition away from coal, which emits more greenhouse gases.
‘But if we don’t, we risk the storage facilities not being filled enough by the end of the year, just in time for the winter season. On a political level, we are then blackmailable,’ he stated
After the Western countries implemented embargo in reaction to Moscow’s attack on Ukraine, major gas transit line to Europe and even a major wheat supplier, Russia reiterated its earlier complaint that Europe was solely to blame.
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