2022-08-12 08:45:00
EUROPEAN POWER PRICES UP
BLOOMBERG - Aug 11, 2022 - European power prices rose to fresh records on Thursday as a blistering rally showed no signs of abating.
The gains reflect a tight market for natural gas -- used to fuel power plants -- as Russia cuts supplies just as Europe works to replenish stockpiles for winter. A drop in nuclear-reactor output, as well as low wind and hydro generation, has exacerbated the squeeze, raising the specter of intervention to reduce demand.
“If Russia cuts off the gas and there might not be enough gas for the whole demand, then there would be rationing,” Annegret Groebel, president of the Council of European Energy Regulators, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Blackouts “can be avoided, but of course it requires a lot of preparatory work that we are currently doing.”
Benchmark German power for next year rose as much as 4.5% to a record 446 euros a megawatt-hour on the European Energy Exchange. The French contract was up as much as 4.4%, rising above 600 euros for the first time. That’s more than $1,000 for the equivalent energy of a barrel of oil.
Heat waves this summer have intensified demand while adding to supply disruptions, with key waterways -- which are used to generate hydropower, cool nuclear plants and ship energy commodities -- drying up.
France is in a particularly dire situation, as more than half of its nuclear fleet is offline for maintenance. Normally the nation would be exporting power, but this year it has become a net importer, leading neighboring countries to burn more gas to keep the lights on.
“Historically-low nuclear power output and low hydro reservoirs across Europe are leaving a shortfall in supply that can only be met with dispatchable sources like coal and gas,” said Patricio Alvarez, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “This adds to the resilience of gas demand at a time of dwindling supply from Russia.”
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Earlier:
2022, August, 4, 10:40:00
EUROPE WILL PAY MORE
Energy consumer prices are rising at an annual rate of nearly 40 per cent in the eurozone and 57 per cent in the UK, reflecting the surge in wholesale gas and oil prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That is drastically eating into households’ disposable income.
2022, August, 4, 10:30:00
EUROPE NEED OIL GAS INVESTMENT
TotalEnergies said it would boost spending on short-cycle projects this year to help ease Europe's growing energy supply crunch. It expects its full-year capital spending to hit $16 billion in 2022 as it hopes to increase its sources of European natural gas and produce more LNG in the coming months.
2022, August, 3, 12:20:00
RUSSIAN DIESEL FOR EUROPE UP
The region imported almost 700,000 barrels a day of the fuel from Russia last month, higher than the previous month and a 22 per cent increase compared with July last year
2022, August, 2, 12:15:00
EUROPEAN GAS PRICES GROWTH
Russia has cut exports to Europe to multiyear lows this summer -- supplying less than a third of normal volumes -- and there’s no clarity on further moves.
2022, July, 15, 12:00:00
EUROPEAN ENERGY CRISIS, RECESSION
“Until now I thought we had shot ourselves in the foot,” Orban said. “Now it’s more like the European economy had shot itself in the lungs and it’s now struggling to breathe.”
2022, July, 14, 12:30:00
RUSSIAN, EUROPE SANCTIONS WITHOUT GAS
"What is definitely problematic is to include energy into the sanctions, because a rule must be observed that the sanctions must have a greater impact on Russia than on the countries imposing the sanctions."
2022, May, 19, 13:50:00
EUROPEAN ENERGY SUICIDE
Saying no to Russian energy means that Europe will systemically and for the long term become the world’s most costly region for energy resources.
