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Europe in a downward spiral – the new poverty of the old continent

If energy is life and the lack of energy is death, then Europe’s dismantling of its energy security is equivalent to civilizational suicide.

Europe is again on the brink of lockdowns—though its goal this time is not to “stop the spread” of a virus.

This time, European Union members and even the U.K. are imposing energy rationing schemes in an attempt to keep people from freezing to death this winter.

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In Germany, they’re no longer heating public pools, shutting traffic lights, and turning off city fountains.

Germany’s largest housing provider, Vonovia, has announced that it will reduce the nighttime room temperature in its rental apartments amid a coming energy crunch, a move that is expected to affect hundreds of thousands of tenants.

A town in Germany burns wood for energy, German citizens search the forest to heat their homes, people in Poland line up to buy coal, and 70% of British restaurants want to close.

Several German cities plan to open warm public shelters by winter for those who cannot afford heating at home.

Hungary instructed schools as well to look into wood-burning to keep warm.

Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands are urging citizens to shower less, and Spain is literally regulating people’s thermostats.

Authorities in Warsaw have allowed citizens to forage for firewood in forests to keep their homes heated amid spiraling energy costs. Poland is amid a coal shortage after banning Russian imports.

In an interview with the Swiss daily ‘Blick’, the police director of the Swiss canton of St. Gallen, Fredy Fässler, warns of an uncomfortable winter in Switzerland with possible riots and looting.

The U.K. is not only bracing for potential blackouts but also eye-popping electricity rates. One group warned that power bills are set to hit US$5,000 a year, driving one-third of households into “fuel poverty.”

Heavy industry is also facing restrictions, if not outright shutdowns, as electricity prices fly off the charts and inflation soars.

As this new economic contagion spreads, some chemical, fertilizer, and steel plants are already shutting down.

Of course, the Euro elites lord over the continent will tell you this is all Russia’s fault.

To be sure, Russia is throttling gas supplies, but they won’t mention how Europe became enthralled by Russia and its vast natural gas reserves in the first place.

The fact is that Europe spent decades replacing fossil fuels with intermittent, unreliable renewable energy, mainly from wind and solar.

For years, Europe’s political elites ignored, dismissed, and even mocked those who sounded the alarm on their “green” indulgences.

The pitfalls of this misguided policy were obvious—wind and solar power need tremendous amounts of backup fuel sources, given their intermittent nature.

Hence, Europe, Germany in particular, became addicted to cheap Russian gas. The more renewables they dumped onto the grid, the more reliant they became on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s energy.

European gas prices. (Photo internet reproduction)
European gas prices. (Photo internet reproduction)

Nowhere is this more obvious than Europe’s economic powerhouse, Germany.

Under former Chancellor Angela Merkel, the country embarked on the so-called “Energiewende” to transition to “green” energy, like wind and solar.

Two-thirds of Germans will soon have no ability to save money, and the situation is likely to worsen due to soaring inflation, said Helmut Schleweis, who serves as both the president of Sparkasse and the German Savings Banks Association.

The influential banking head says he fears a lousy winter for Germans, with most citizens increasingly reaching their financial limits due to high inflation.

Germany’s Economy Minister Robert Habeck has warned of a catastrophic winter for Germans over fears of a cut to the gas supply from Russia.

The vice-chancellor warned of a nightmare scenario in winter because of the impending lack of energy, with the government already implementing gas alert measures due to dwindling supplies from Russia.

Habeck, who belongs to the country’s Green party, told the Deutschlandfunk broadcaster he was under no illusions about the severity of the crisis.

SOARING GAS PRICES

Following Russia announcing it was planning on closing Nord Stream 1 for three days for maintenance in August, gas and electricity prices have continued soaring higher in Europe, with electricity prices hitting new records for Germany and France.

In Germany, electricity futures for next year jumped to an all-time high of over €1,000 (US$1,000) a megawatt-hour.

European gas future prices have also hit a record, closing at €318 yesterday. Although they reached up to €345 in March, that was an intraday record and did not close at that price.

Inflation, which has been driven partly by rising energy costs, has crushed German consumer sentiment, bringing it to a record low, according to research from Growth for Knowledge (GfK)

Gfk’s consumer barometer reports a drop of 5.6 points in July to -36.5, which surprised markets.

Wholesale gas prices also hit a new record on the Dutch gas futures exchange, reaching €320 and more per megawatt hour.

In mid-August 2021, a megawatt hour only cost €26, representing a massive increase of more than 1,200 percent.

The cost of French power jumped to a new record as its nuclear plants were confronted with outages due to drought and technical issues.

A number of German cities are planning to open warm public shelters by winter for those who cannot afford heating at home, Bild reports. (Photo internet reproduction)
Several German cities are planning to open warm public shelters by winter for those who cannot afford heating at home, Bild reports. (Photo internet reproduction)

France derives a substantial share of its power from nuclear energy, with its current atomic woes having a knock-on effect across the entire European energy market.

State-owned Electricite de France SA’s announced that more reactors would take longer to come back online after they were halted, with the outages expected to reduce output by 8,380 megawatts, representing nearly 14 percent of France’s total nuclear capacity.

“In France, only half the reactors are running,” said German State Secretary Patrick Graichen, who serves in the economy ministry.

Russia’s state-owned Gazprom announced that the vital Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline would be shut off for three days of maintenance on Aug. 31.

However, there are fears that Russia may not restart flows, which have already been reduced to approximately 20 percent of the normal levels recorded last year.

Even if supplies come back online, gas prices may rise further due to uncertainty, and Russia may implement periodic shutdowns in the future that further squeeze Europe.

At the Pauluel 4 reactor in France, planned outages for six reactors have been extended, and a new one was announced. While these types of outages have lasted only a few days in some cases, others have lasted for as long as two months.

French power for next year soared to €880 (US$879) a megawatt-hour, representing a 1,000 percent increase from a year ago.

However, French energy prices are capped for consumers, meaning that so far, French end-consumers have not seen massive increases in their bills, with the government paying the difference.

European countries remain in crisis mode, searching for ways to reduce power costs and shield citizens from soaring energy bills.

On Friday, the U.K. announced that the price cap on energy bills would be increased by 80 percent. Millions are expected to be hit with bills approximately three times higher than last winter’s, increasing the odds of a recession.

With information from Tucker Carlson, the Daily Signal, ReMix News and others.

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