Russia has cut gas supplies to Europe, with the summer's scorching heat putting severe pressure on Europe's energy systems.
Electricity prices in Germany hit record highs after intense heatwaves, coupled with drought, limited shipping on a key European waterway used for fuel transport.
Russia has cut gas supplies to Europe, with this painful summer putting severe pressure on Europe's energy systems.
This pressure is having a huge impact on the incomes of businesses and households across Europe; The crisis is expected to intensify with the increase in fuel demand during winter.
According to a Bloomberg report, almost everything related to its management has contributed to the increase in electricity prices.
The last to be 'strangled' is the Rhine River. Due to the fact that navigation through this waterway has become practically impossible for the past few days, sufficient coal is not being supplied to the power plants.
European countries are becoming more dependent on coal in recent times to save gas.
If desired, coal can be transported to power plants by road or rail, but the cost will be much higher than by water.
"The plants are not getting enough coal for peak power generation as the water level of the Rhine River falls," AME Group analysts wrote in a note.
As a result, German electricity prices on the European Energy Exchange have risen by 3.2 percent to 420 euros per megawatt-hour next year, more than five times the price of a year ago.
Intense fires and droughts are also drying up the rivers and reservoirs that power hydroelectric plants.
“There is virtually no end in sight to these dry conditions. "It's not just this summer that has been very hot or dry, but these conditions have been going on for a long time, compounding the effects of the drought," said CJ Eriksen Hohmen, a hydrologist at an Oslo-based energy technology company.
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