Gas prices rose in Europe, share prices fell, and the euro fell after Russia on Monday stopped gas supplies to Europe via a key supply route, triggering a new nationwide tsunami. Pandemic.
EU governments are vying with multibillion-dollar packages to prevent energy companies from drowning in a liquidity crisis and protect households from rising bills after Russian state-owned Gazprom said it would stop pumping gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline due to a malfunction. .
Europe has accused Russia of arming its energy resources in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. Russia said the West was waging an economic war and that the sanctions were hampering pipeline operations.
A number of European electricity utilities have already collapsed, and some large generators may be at risk, subject to price ceilings that limit switchovers to consumers, or bet on hedging that gas prices are 400% higher than a year ago.
“This has the ingredients for a kind of Lehman Brothers of the energy industry,” Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintila said on Sunday, referring to the US bank that collapsed in 2008 and heralded the global financial collapse.
Finland plans to offer €10 billion ($10 billion) and Sweden SEK 250 billion ($23 billion) liquidity guarantees for energy companies. Germany, which is more dependent on Russian gas than most EU countries, has offered a multi-billion-euro bailout to energy utility Uniper.
“The government program is a last resort financing option for companies that would otherwise be threatened with bankruptcy,” Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said. said.
The reference gas price rose 35% on Monday to 284 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), after Russia said on Friday that a leak in Nord Stream 1 equipment meant the pipeline would be shut down after a three-day maintenance shutdown last week.
contingency plans
Russia also sends gas to Europe via pipelines via Ukraine, another important route. But these supplies also dwindled during the crisis, forcing the EU to find alternative sources to renew gas storage facilities for the winter.
Some EU states have put in place contingency plans that could lead to energy rationing and recession fears as inflation rises and interest rates rise.
Some energy-intensive industries in Europe, such as fertilizer producers and aluminum producers, have already reduced production. Other industries, which are already facing swarf shortages and logistical bottlenecks, are facing skyrocketing fuel bills.
Energy ministers from EU countries will meet on September 9 to discuss options to contain rising energy prices, including gas price caps and emergency credit lines for energy market participants, according to a document seen by Reuters.
source: Noticias
