Europe’s energy crisis is Putin’s problem now
Barely six months ago, Russian media released a propaganda film showing freezing Europeans huddling together for warmth and cooking their pets, in a dystopian future without fossil fuels supplied by Russia.
More than a year on since the start of the war in Ukraine, the Continent has more or less kicked its addiction to Moscow’s gas — and nobody’s had to eat a hamster.
European wholesale natural gas prices have reached a two-year low, ending last week at €24.84 per megawatt hour, according to analytics firm ICIS.
That’s close to the 2010s average of €20.11 — and a major drop compared with April 2022, when gas price benchmarks hit the colossal €200 mark after Russia indefinitely slashed and then shut off much of its usual flows of gas to Europe in retaliation against economic sanctions.
“Our storages are at very high levels, demand has been reduced significantly, and new infrastructure has been developed to support the diversification efforts,” European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson told POLITICO. “We have managed to get rid of our dependence on Russian fossil fuels mainly by diversifying to reliable partners.” [Continue reading…]