The effect of the Russia-Ukraine War on Europe continues. Since the start of the war, many European countries, including the Netherlands, have decided to impose sanctions against Russia. Moscow, on the other hand, found the solution to stop the flow of natural gas in order to respond to the European countries that imposed sanctions on it.
So, will the Netherlands be able to overcome the natural gas crisis? What are the measures taken by the Dutch government?
With the gas flow cut off, the Dutch government has decided to subsidize their energy bills so that their citizens are not burdened with high energy bills before the upcoming winter.
From 1 November 2022, electricity and natural gas bills will be paid at the pre-Ukraine war price, up to the average consumption amount. With this decision, the amount of the basic consumption package was determined as approximately 2,500 kilowatt-hours in electricity and 1,169 cubic meters in natural gas.
The government used the average consumption of a Dutch family to determine the rate. With this step taken by the government, the Dutch people will have paid for the electricity and natural gas consumption in the determined amounts, at the prices of last year’s January during the winter. The deficit in the invoices will be covered by the state. Also, no one will be cut off from electricity and gas for not paying.
Could there be a gas shortage in the Netherlands?
GasTerra, the gas distribution company in the Netherlands, announced that the amount of gas cut by Russia constitutes about 5 percent of the annual gas need of the Netherlands. A spokesperson for the company said that this is a substantial amount, but not irreplaceable.
The Dutch government sees the use of gas extracted in the Groningen region in the north of the country as a last resort. Dutch Climate and Energy Minister Rob Jetten stated that this is not necessary at the moment and said, “We promised the residents of Groningen that we would reduce gas production in that area and we are complying.”
Many buildings were damaged in the Groningen region due to earthquakes due to gas works, and the government decided to stop gas production.
GAS FLOW TO EUROPE AGAIN?
The Russian government first shut down Nord Stream 1, the largest pipeline of gas sent to Europe, last August, and Moscow cited oil leaks in gas turbines as the reason for the pipeline’s closure. Upon this, Siemens Energy company, which manufactures gas turbines, confirmed that there was a malfunction in the turbines, but declared that this malfunction was not a malfunction that would require cutting off the gas flow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a statement he made recently, said, “We will not provide gas, oil, coal, heating oil. We will not provide anything. “The West will be frozen this winter,” he said. Russian gas giant Gazprom has announced that it will not reopen the Nord Stream gas pipeline to Europe as planned.
How is the situation in other European countries?
With Moscow’s use of energy as a weapon against Europe, energy prices are breaking records in continental countries. Europeans, who have started to experience partial cuts due to the serious price hikes one after the other, are thinking about how they will spend the winter.
According to the news in the Turkish press, many EU citizens who were disturbed by this situation took action to spend the winter in Turkey. People from many EU countries have started to book hotels and rental houses in Turkey.
Which country is taking what action?
EU citizens continue to criticize their country’s dependence on Russian gas. So, what kind of steps do other European countries, trying to get through this process with the least damage, take to protect the welfare of their citizens?
The European Union (EU) Commission pushed the button to change the European energy market structure and rules, which led to the rise in gas and electricity prices. EU Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen noted that they are working on a “structural reform” that will be implemented in early 2023, and thus aiming to cut the negative impact of gas prices on electricity prices.
On the other hand, EU governments, who were worried that the strikes that broke out in England would occur in their own countries, started to announce new reform packages. In addition, in some countries that are starting to go for various energy savings, governments are turning to coal and nuclear production. Some countries, on the other hand, propose the use of 200 billion Euros of credit provided by the post-Covid-19 recovery plan, which member states do not use, in this area.