With the planned energy crisis in Europe intensifying and European power smashing records the pressure on industrial production and consumers is squeezing tighter.
Bloomberg reports that “Rallying gas coal and carbon prices and little sign of relief for Europe’s embattled power infrastructure are pushing electricity costs higher” and this is “threateningthe future of Germany’s industrial heartlands.”[1]
A benchmark for Europe the German year-ahead power has been rising. The megawatt-hour price for the contract increased by 6.1% to a record 570 euros ($573) while French futures increased by as much as 2.8% to 720 euros.
This upheaval has led the Polish to sleep in their car just to stay in line for coal to heat their homes. Many cars and lorries lined up at the Lubelski Wegiel Bogdanka coal mine in Poland’s late summer heat as residents fearing fuel shortages in the winter spent days and nights waiting in lines to stock up on heating oil. This is all reminiscent of the communist era.[2]
“3.8 million in Poland that rely on coal for heating and now face shortages and price hikes after Poland and the European Union imposed an embargo on Russian coal following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February.”
Poland had banned purchases immediately in April while the EU required a phase-out period by August.
Although Poland produces more than 50 million tonnes of coal annually from its own mines imported coal—often from Russia—is a household lump form that is better suited for domestic usage.
Because of the intense demand Bogdanka and other state-controlled mines are now rationing sales or only providing a small amount of gasoline to individual customers through online marketplaces. The man only identified as Artur claimed that he had gathered documents from his extended family in the hope of collecting all of their gasoline allocations at once.
In Naples people have besieged the town hall and burnt their energy bills: “The bills aren’t paid by us! Now there will be chaos!”
In Naples, people besiege the town hall and burn their energy bills: "The bills aren't paid by us! Now there will be chaos!" No one makes jokes in Naples.#EnergyCrisis #energy #news #protest pic.twitter.com/ALNVZVdB6v
— We Are Protestors (@WeAreProtestors) September 2, 2022
In Tripoli Lebanon protesters tried to storm the Deir Ammar power station against the electricity shortage caused by the severe shortage of fuel and which have even led to water cuts for the population.
According to Bloomberg[3] which cited information from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association at least 20 million households or roughly 1 in 6 American homes are behind on their utility payments as rising electricity prices cause what is thought to be the worst-ever crisis in late utility payments (Neada).
After a decade of stagnation according to Neada electricity prices have grown dramatically since 2020. Bills for unpaid electricity cost billions of dollars as a result of the sharp increase.
And just as much as these impending hikes in energy costs do not look good for residents it doesn’t look well for businesses either.
In the UK small business owners throughout Britain have reported having restless nights and worrying that they won’t make it through the winter. Since February 2021 businesses have seen increases in gas expenses of 424% and in electricity costs of 349% according to data from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
“Thousands of traders are looking to renegotiate electricity and gas contracts that expire in October as two-year fixed-price supply deals come to an end.”[4]But business owners reported having trouble finding a supplier in the run-up to the busy October season for renewing these gas and electricity contracts leaving them with “extortionate” prices or requests for a deposit as the latest symptom of the worsening energy crisis.[5]
The following photos give a first-hand experience of what is happening:
And the following screenshot shows two bills that an Italian business owner in Southern Italy received. One shows that of 120k of July 2021 and the other shows the one of 979k he received last July.
Please do not whine about the economic shitstorm you are now in if you wore a mask chastised people for not getting shots cheered lockdowns got tested every hour to keep yourself and others safe and chuckled at the idea that Covid-19 is the seed of the Great Reset.
I hope that this transition we are in will be a wake-up call for many.
[1]https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-19/german-power-climbs-to-fresh-record-as-industry-starts-to-buckle
[2]https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poland-where-coal-is-king-homeowners-queue-days-buy-fuel-2022-08-27/
[3]https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-23/can-t-pay-utility-bills-20-million-us-homes-behind-on-payments-facing-shutoffs
[4]https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/25/sleepless-nights-business-owners-energy-bills-quadruple
[5]https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/25/big-energy-firms-refuse-to-supply-small-uk-businesses-bankruptcy-fears-contracts