Energy crisis forces Germans to find heating alternatives: NYT

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The New York Times
25 Dec 2022 19:24
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Amid Europe's rising energy crisis, Germans are resorting to alternatives on their own in order to secure energy and heating to survive winter.

Germans are resorting to chopping and storing wood for heating

With the exacerbation of the energy crisis in Germany, many citizens resorted to following old methods of securing heating, most notably chopping and storing wood, preparing themselves for the winter, the New York Times reported.

According to the newspaper, since Russia cut gas deliveries in early spring, "the price of cords of wood and wood pellets has jumped by more than 87 percent compared with 2021."

The Times pointed out that "more and more Germans were drawn to solar energy in 2022. The amount of power generated from solar panels increased by one-third in the first part of the year, amid fears of potential blackouts."

Despite 60% of Germans saying they trust their government, as per the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, "many Germans have decided that if faced with the worst, they might be on their own. They want to be prepared," the newspaper indicated.

During the last months of 2022, electricity prices increased dramatically in Germany, Europe's largest economy.

The net losses of the German energy company Uniper rose to 40 billion euros in just nine months due to Western sanctions against Russian energy sources, which caused a decline in Russian gas supplies.

In September, Germany confirmed the nationalization of struggling gas importer Uniper as Berlin struggles to secure power for Europe's largest economy in the aftermath of the West’s draconian sanctions against Russia.

German inflation to remain high until end of 2024

Earlier, the German government's senior economic aide warned that the inflation the country is facing is likely to remain high until the end of 2024 as German companies spill their rising costs onto customers.

"Inflation will also be an issue in 2024, and only thereafter will we maybe see it returning to 2%," Monika Schnitzer, who heads the council of economists that advises the German government said.

Schnitzer explained that "inflation is remaining high because we are seeing second round effects, with companies passing on their higher costs - and some significantly exaggerating," according to Rheinische Post newspaper.

In November, Germany's inflation stood at around 11.3%, running high at its fastest pace since the early 1950s.

Schnitzer expressed her concern about the high electricity prices, saying that it's urgent that the government checks whether it would make sense to let the remaining three nuclear plants run for two to three years beyond planned.

In October, Germany decided to extend the lifespans of the remaining three nuclear plants until April to accommodate the energy crisis in the country.

Qatar approves long-term gas supply deal with Germany

On November 29, Qatar agreed to supply Germany with two million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year for at least 15 years, as Germany attempts to replace all energy imports by mid-2024 as part of a Russia isolation policy. This deal, however, has been criticized as it only replaces 3% of the total need for LNG in Germany.

In the publicly-announced agreement between Qatar and Germany, the latter will receive two million tonnes of LNG at Brunsbüttel, which will be delivered, according to Qatar's Energy Minister Saad Sharida al-Kaabi, by American energy firm ConocoPhilipps.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the 15-year term of the deal was "great".

But the head of energy analytics, Andreas Schroeder, considered that the starting date of 2026 was late, as Germany needed LNG for 2023 and 2024.

"If German players do not secure sufficient volumes at an OK price for 2023, they will have to revert to spot LNG markets, and expose themselves to global price volatility," he pointed out.

On that note, German MP Kaus Ernst commented on the Qatar-Germany LNG agreement saying that the deal does not offer real alternatives to Russian gas.