A three-day halt of the Nord Stream pipeline -- a key source of natural gas for the European Union -- starts on Wednesday, and concerns are widespread that Moscow will find another excuse to clamp down on supplies, putting the region at the mercy of the weather.

In July 2019, Fermi Energia announced it would conduct a feasibility study on the deployment of SMRs in Estonia.

European natural gas prices on Monday plunged the most since March after Germany said its gas stores are filling up faster than planned.

Europe’s benchmark electricity price has risen to 10 times its decade-long average, in line with a 14-fold increase in the cost of gas, amid fears of shortages this winter.

With Russia squeezing gas deliveries and power-plant outages further sapping supply, pressure is growing on EU leaders to act quickly or risk social unrest and political upheaval.

Benchmark Dutch front-month futures fell as much as 16%, partly reversing last week’s jump of almost 40%.

While some countries like Germany, where nearly half the homes rely on gas for heating, are more exposed than others, the European Union is seeking to band together.

Russia’s Gazprom will halt flows on its key Nord Stream gas pipeline for three days of repairs on Aug. 31, again raising concerns it won’t return after the work.

Russian gas company Gazprom has announced it will halt gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from 31 August to 2 September 2022, quoting maintenance issues for the pipeline’s only remaining compressor.

Benchmark futures rose as much as 16%, also driving up electricity prices to fresh records. The key Nord Stream pipeline will stop for three days of maintenance on Aug. 31, again raising concerns that the link won’t return to service as planned after the works.

Europe is engulfed in an energy crisis fanned by limited supplies from Russia, as well as increased demand amid recovery from the pandemic and a hot and dry summer that has increased the need for cooling.

Gas markets in Europe jumped 6 per cent on Wednesday to €236 a megawatt hour, taking the week’s gains so far to 14 per cent. The latest price was equivalent in energy terms to almost $400 a barrel of oil,

European countries imported on average approximately 400 million cubic meters of gas per day from Russia during the January to July period last year, but imports dropped to 240 million cubic meters per day for the January-July period this year.

Benchmark futures increased as much as 6.5%, after settling 6.8% higher on Monday.

Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto had traveled to Moscow in late July in an attempt to secure 0.7 Bcm of gas from Russia in addition to the 4.5 Bcm/year of gas it contracted to buy in September 2021.