Europe: Running out of gas and heading back to using coal

Europe: Running out of gas and heading back to using coal. CC/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

EUROPE is heading back to using coal as Russia slows gas flow it has been confirmed today, June 20 by Reuters.

Some of Europe’s biggest receivers of Russian gas have been searching to find an alternative fuel supply. This has led to considering burning more coal.

Reduced gas flows from Russia today have threatened an energy crisis come winter if stocks are not being replaced.

Eni, Italy’s main energy supplier, said it had been informed today by Russia’s main supplier, Gazprom, that it would only receive part of its request for gas supplies. Eni has confirmed that this will push the country closer to declaring a state of alert that will spark gas-saving measures.

On Sunday, Germany also faced receiving lower Russian gas supplies and they announced the plan to increase gas storage levels and said it could restart coal-fired power plants that it had aimed to phase out.

Germany’s Economy Minister, Robert Habeck, said: “This is painful, but it is a sheer necessity in this situation to reduce gas consumption,”

“But if we don’t do it, then we run the risk that the storage facilities will not be full enough at the end of the year towards the winter season. And then we are blackmailable on a political level,” he said.

Russia repeated on Monday, 20 June, that Europe only had itself to blame for the gas crisis after the West imposed sanctions in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, a gas transit route to Europe, as well as a major wheat exporter.


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Anna Ellis

Originally from Derbyshire, Anna has lived in the middle of nowhere on the Costa Blanca for 19 years. She is passionate about her animal family including four dogs and four horses, musicals and cooking.

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