Consumers in the European Union and Britain are facing further increases in gas prices this winter, as flows through long transit routes prove to be few.
The new Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Europe could reduce the narrow market. However, it faced more delays as German certification was suspended, amid opposition to the entire project from the United States and some Europeans. This year, the shock in electricity prices has pushed several European and British energy suppliers, as they can not always pass on price increases to customers. The British Bulb, with a 6% share of the domestic market, was the last to collapse.
Excessively high electricity costs have forced some energy-hungry industries to cut production, and European consumers are now paying more to heat their homes as winter approaches, raising inflationary pressures. Reference prices in Europe rose 700% in October this year and British prices rose about 500% as global economies recovered from the pandemic and sucked in gas, especially Asian countries, while European stocks were low.
European gas has risen more than 300% this year and the UK benchmark has risen by around 250%. Gas imports for many analysts could well lead to problems. While energy exports are not inherently “malignant”, Moscow often uses its state-run energy companies as agents to influence other governments and political processes through corruption, coercion and political manipulation. All of the above, according to the same analysis, are done with the aim of Russia expanding its influence to the detriment of other countries. Its influence is multifaceted and is used because Russia bets a lot on countries that rely on it for gas. The risks in these cases for the countries are too much in terms of independence but also in terms of corruption, as happened in TurkStream which is a gas pipeline running from Russia to Turkey. The pipeline starts from the Russkaya compressor station near Anapa in the Krasnodar region of Russia, crossing the Black Sea to the receiving terminal in Kıyıköy.
Many countries have in the past pursued alternative energy sources and turned away from Moscow. In these cases the countries, according to the same analyzes, have benefited. The reason is that when there are other solutions, countries can negotiate lower gas prices in other competing gas markets. To date, many countries have taken small but substantial steps away from Russian interest, such as the benefits of gas interconnection, LNG import facilities for coastal countries, or nuclear power outside Russia. Competition and free enterprise are essential to repelling the corruption and coercion that Moscow often promotes in countries based on Russian energy.
In terms of corruption in the past, many Russian energy companies have reportedly been accused of bribery, fraud and corruption when concluding deals, which is against the Republic in the countries concerned. In Bulgaria, for example, there have been numerous references to officials in the country, including three ministers, for corruption related to Rosatom’s nuclear projects. Gazprom’s subsidiaries have been accused several times of regularly sending bribes to elected decision-makers in Serbia. Other publications abroad have pointed out in the past that several Russian energy companies have links to organized crime at home and abroad. Gazprom’s plan to expand Turkey’s power, as previously reported, has links to organized crime in the Balkans.
Moscow has in the past tried to “punish” countries for gas or energy. The examples, according to international analysts are many. Last year, several Russian olive oil companies suspended exports. Last year, Russian oil companies cut off exports to Belarus because of resistance to deeper economic ties with Russia. In 2014, Gazprom cut off gas supplies to several Eastern European countries for energy sales to Ukraine. Moscow’s threats to Central Asian leaders not to pursue an East-West pipeline along the Caspian Sea were intended to perpetuate what is essentially a “suffocating economic framework” in the region. Russia often exploits energy relations to achieve favorable political results. Last year, Russia threatened to oust Serbian President Vucic from power if it did not appoint a “pro-Russian” official to head Serbia’s electricity council. Rosatom in 2019 sent “advisers” to Bolivia to launch an influence campaign to make the country a “strategic gateway” for greater Russian influence across Latin America.
It is noteworthy, however, that the Russian Federation has agreed to explore the possibility of producing low-cost electricity in Sri Lanka through new sources such as nuclear energy. The decision was announced after a meeting between Russian Ambassador Yuri b Materiy and Energy Minister Gamini Lokuge at the ministry. The ambassador said Sri Lanka should consider adapting to other low-cost electricity generation methods other than renewable energy. He also said that he is ready to provide assistance aimed at providing electricity to meet the daily growing demand of the country as well as providing relief to consumers by deviating from costly electricity generation strategies. Minister Lokuge said that the energy sector in Sri Lanka is currently focusing on renewable sources. He also stressed that the Ministry is moving towards the goals set by the President to increase the contribution of renewable energy sources to the national grid by 70% by the year 2030.
Reuters, AP, BBC, The Moscow Times
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