Germany could be facing months of energy shortages and blackouts despite being prepared.
Key Details
- The European energy crisis continues to hit numerous countries as they struggle with high energy prices and limited supplies going into the winter months, as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine slowing available supplies of oil and natural gas.
- Representatives from the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) are now asserting that short power outages are to be expected in the coming months.
- Germany has worked to bolster its supply of fuel to get it through the winter and has largely succeeded in filling its reserves. It had to go as far as to nationalize its energy sector though.
- Politicians have worked to reduce the negative impact of soaring energy prices but it is unlikely that the country will be able to avoid cutbacks.
- Analysts are still predicting that the country will need to make massive cutbacks to support demand, including possibly shutting off public Christmas Lights displays, heating restrictions, imposing cold showers, and more.
Why it’s News
European news website Express reports that Germany is going to see temporary and purposeful grid shutdowns in order to protect the energy supply in the tough winter months. This could drastically affect the quality of life of millions of people in the cold winter months in Europe.
“We have to assume that there will be blackouts in winter. By that, I mean a regional and temporary interruption of the power supply … The risk of this increases from January and February, so we assume that from then on there will be power interruptions for a certain period of time,” says BBK president Ralph Tiesler.
“The BBK president criticized the fact that government agencies were not always adequately prepared for crisis situations such as power failures. Some of the municipalities and authorities are ‘really exemplary,’ with precise plans and ensuring the power supply through emergency generators on site. ‘Others are in a much worse position, they are not sufficiently prepared. It’s very different,’ explained the head of the authority,” says Express.
As we previously reported, the energy crisis is already having severe effects on productivity, manufacturing, and inflation. The German economy is suffering from profitability issues due to the war and nearly 16,000 businesses may be forced to close due to low or negative profit margins.