Page 10 - FSUOGM Week 36 2022

FSUOGM PIPELINES & TRANSPORT FSUOGM

and other equipment used at the compressor the lifespan of two of the three more plants it was
station. But Gazprom cancelled the restart, cit- due to close at the end of 2022 until at least next
ing an oil leak at the last remaining turbine still spring.
in operation. The Russian company has blamed Meanwhile, the already-high cost of Europe’s
sanctions for preventing the repair of this equip- third main source of baseload power supply, coal,
ment and said the pipeline would remain closed has been inflated by the significant expense of
as long as it takes to carry out the necessary work. carbon permits under the EU Emissions Trading
“Siemens is taking part in repair work in System. However, coal supplies to Europe have
accordance with the current contract, is detect- been curtailed after the sixth package of sanc-
ing malfunctions … and is ready to fix the oil tions banning Russian coal deliveries to Europe
leaks,” Gazprom added in a second Telegram came into force on August 10.
post on September 3. “Only there is nowhere to Performance at wind and solar power plants
do the repair.” According to the German com- over the last few months has also been weaker
pany, though, such an oil leak would not usually than usual for the time of year, and with Europe
affect the operation of a turbine and could be now entering the colder half of the year, solar
fixed on site. output typically diminishes anyway. Meanwhile,
“Irrespective of this, we have already pointed hydroelectric power supply particularly in Nor-
out several times that there are enough addi- way has been hindered by low water levels caused
tional turbines available in the Portovaya com- by the summer drought. The combination of all
pressor station for Nord Stream 1 to operate,” a these blows has been called a “perfect storm” for
Siemens spokesperson told Reuters. The station Europe’s energy system by some analysts.
reportedly has four spare turbines on site in case
of problems, but none of these have reportedly Rising discontent
been used to replace the faulty turbines. If the EU fails to curb consumption in a planned
The EU managed at the end of August 30 to way, the result could be blackouts and further
successfully fill its gas storage facilities to 80% of spikes in energy costs this winter. This could
capacity – two months ahead of its target. But the trigger further unrest among the public, already
indefinite closure, and the risk of a further reduc- greatly disconcerted by soaring energy bills.
tion in Russian supply, raises the risk that this still Protests against the energy crisis are sweeping
may not be enough to get Europe through winter, Europe. On September 3, an estimated 70,000
especially if it proves to be a harsh one. people took to the streets of Prague to demand
Russian gas supply in Europe already plum- that the ruling coalition do more to control
meted to a record low in August of 3.4bn cubic energy costs, and the protesters also voiced
metres, down 7% from the previous record low opposition to both Nato and EU, viewing the
set in July. The remaining Russian gas will be present situation as a consequence of Western
extremely difficult to replace, with global LNG sanctions against Russia. Germany is bracing
production already maxing out and limited other itself for similar unrest. There were also protests
alternatives on the table. The result will be fur- in Cologne over the weekend when tens of thou-
ther demand destruction as energy-intensive sands of pro-Russia demonstrators marched
industries curtail output. to complain about the rising cost of living and
The EU called for a voluntary 15% cut in gas called for an end to Berlin’s support of Ukraine.
consumption in July across all sectors between Polls show most Germans are dissatisfied with
last month and the end of the coming winter, to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government.
ease the economic pain. But there are limits to This is of course the outcome that Russian
how much Brussels can enforce such reductions President Vladimir Putin desired. A wave of
in the event of an emergency. Originally the outrage against Russia’s invasion and sympathy
EU proposed a mandatory 15% cut, but Brus- towards Ukraine swept Europe earlier this year.
sels backed off after several countries rebelled. But by throttling energy supply to Europe, Mos-
After negotiations with the European Council, cow is pressing European leaders to make con-
the final legislation approved in early August cessions in the Ukraine conflict, or risk being
was extensively watered down. The decision to ousted in elections by an increasingly bitter
enforce reductions in gas use can only be made public. Some governments have tried to quell
with the approval of member states. And many the anger by introducing caps on energy prices
of those member states will be able to secure to the public, but there is a limit to how much
exemptions, including the Baltic States, Cyprus, support can be maintained against the damage
Ireland, Malta, Portugal and Spain. that the energy crisis is inflicting to economies
and government budgets.
Perfect energy storm Europe has already spent an estimated
Critically, there are constraints on how much $278bn in support and relief measures as a result
Europe can rely on alternative sources to gas of the war, but that cost is expected to more than
supply. France has been struggling with an double as the weather gets colder. Italy is one of
unusually high number of outages at its nuclear the most exposed to Russian energy of all the
power plants (NPPs), and Germany shut down European countries and the economic minister
4.2 GW of its own atomic energy capacity at said at the weekend that Rome has already spent
the end of last year. Fortunately, energy system €54bn on relief but expects that sum to rise to
stress tests carried out by the government last €100bn by the end of the year, with more spend-
week concluded that the country should extend ing to come in the first half of next year. ™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 36 09•September•2022