Amsterdam to need more measures to fill gas stockpiles by winter
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The Netherlands is calling on its citizens to ration their energy consumption in light of the gas crisis the country is going through in a bid to fill its gas stockpiles by winter.
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The headquarters of Gazprom Germania, formerly owned by Russian energy firm Gazprom, in Berlin, Germany, on April 1 (Reuters)
The Netherlands, like the entire of Europe, will not be able to pump enough gas into the storage facilities by winter without contingency measures, Dutch climate and energy minister Rob Jetten said on Monday.
"We see that the overall supply of gas from Russia to Europe is rapidly declining. This means that without additional measures, it is no longer possible to guarantee that we will be able to fill enough gas storage facilities in Europe and the Netherlands to prepare for the winter," Jetten said in a statement.
He explained that due to this issue, Amsterdam took the decision to make some changes in the country’s policy. Among those policies, Jetten explained, is an anti-crisis plan, which will see the Netherlands lifting restriction on the operation of coal-powered power plants through 2024 to reduce the risk of gas shortages.
"As the risk of gas shortages has increased, the cabinet of ministers today decided to lift the restriction on coal-fired power plants for the period from 2022 to 2024 with immediate effect. This means that coal-fired power plants are again allowed to operate at full capacity," the statement added.
Gas companies must also provide the government with information on gas supplies on a daily basis, it read.
The government in Amsterdam also called on all companies and households to save energy and use it economically.
"From now on, every cubic meter of gas counts, so the cabinet is urging companies and households to save as much energy as possible even in summer," Jetten underlined.
Despite the measures and concerns, Amsterdam noted that there was currently no storage of gas in the country.
Gazprom said on Wednesday that it had stopped the operation of another Siemens gas turbine at the Portovaya compressor station, adding that it will be able to deliver no more than 67 million cubic meters of gas per day via the Nord Stream pipeline starting from Thursday. Deliveries of gas through Nord Stream will be cut by almost a third following Gazprom's decision.
Following Gazprom’s announcement, the European gas prices increased by 10% to over $1150 per 1,000 cubic meters.
According to new research, Russia earned $98 billion from fossil fuel exports during the first 100 days of its war in Ukraine, with the European Union being the top importer.
The US and the EU have sent weapons and cash to assist Ukraine in repelling the Russian advance while punishing Moscow with unprecedented economic sanctions.
However, Kiev has called on Western countries to suspend all trade with Moscow in order to cut off its financial lifeline in the aftermath of the Ukraine war. Prior to the war, Russia supplied 40% of the EU's gas and 27% of its imported oil.
Earlier this month, the European Union agreed to put an end to all Russian oil imports, despite Europe's heavy dependence on Russian energy.
