Captives of Russia: European Energy Prices Soar as Putin Holds Back Gas SuppliesKurt Zindulka 8 Nov 2021
The consequences of European — and thereby the UK too — dependency on Russia for energy are once again written in plain sight as gas prices soared on Monday after promised supply boosts failed to materialise.
Russia, which is the largest supplier of energy to Europe, had said that it would be rising gas flows to the continent on Monday. However, orders from a key Russian pipeline have shown that supplies will likely remain at their current level, prompting massive spikes in energy costs.
The Netherlands, which is used as a benchmark for European Union’s energy prices, saw increases of up to 9.7 per cent on Monday. The UK has also been impacted by the energy crunch, with British prices up by over 9 per cent, The Telegraph reported, given it imports energy from Europe.
With demand for gas rising in the wake of eased lockdown restrictions across the world, household electricity prices have increased in sixteen EU member states during the first half of the year.
The surge in energy costs has also hit energy suppliers hard in the bloc as well as in Britain, with many firms going bankrupt after having locked-in prices for consumers prior to the supply shortages and soaring prices. The companies were simply unable to afford to supply energy at the price agreed.
The knock-on effect of limited natural gas supplies has also seen nitrogen-fertilizer plants across Europe forced to cut back production, increasing the cost of food.
Moscow has been accused of withholding gas supplies from Europe through its pipelines in Poland and Ukraine in response to regulators in Europe failing to approve shipments of gas through the recently constructed Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a claim which Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied.
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https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/11/08/european-energy-prices-soar-as-putin-holds-back-gas-supplies/
