Russia Is No Longer Europe's Reliable Gas Supplier
Whether unable, or unwilling, to boost gas deliveries to Europe, Russia has dealt a fatal blow to its claims of being dependable.
Cold comfort.
Photographer: Vincent Mundy/BloombergIt doesn’t matter whether Russia couldn’t, or wouldn’t, boost natural gas supplies to Europe in recent weeks. Either way it has undermined its claim to be a reliable supplier. It’s also boosted the case for its most important customers to reduce their dependence on Moscow-controlled supplies and boost domestic renewable energy sources.
The well-documented shortage of natural gas currently being suffered in Europe has sent prices on the Dutch Title Transfer Facility and other exchanges soaring. At their peak earlier this month, they were nearly six times as high as at the start of the year. Fourteen energy suppliers in the U.K., selling gas and electricity to more than 2 million customers, have gone bust, squeezed between the soaring cost of buying supplies and capped prices they can charge customers.