Former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl believed that the crisis in Europe’s electricity industry was caused by European politicians themselves, pointing out that this crisis began more than a year ago.
Referring to the severity of the energy crisis in Europe, Kneisl said in an interview with TASS: “Absolutely, one should not think only about the coming winter … We had a crisis in the electric power industry even before the gas crisis began. .This is the result of tracking liberal politics over the past 15-18 years, and we have been observing this since April 2021, that is, more than a year ago. In general, we raised this situation ourselves.”
Kneisl noted that the electricity market in Europe now operates “according to some strange principles” and is not a traditional market based on supply and demand.
She said: “This market has been focused on renewable energy for about 18 years. It has lost its balance. I don’t want to get into technical details, but the fact is that the electricity market, despite the role of renewable energy, is still very dependent.” from the price of gas, even if most of the electricity is generated from renewable sources.
Kneisl noted that after April 2021, electricity prices rose by 30-40%, and now the increase has reached 400%, which has led to a deterioration in the living standards of families, and added: “For the industrial sector, the situation is worse. There is a trend in the UK right now – of course it is not a member of the EU, but this phenomenon could spread – people are simply boycotting their electricity bills.”
The former minister said that the roots of the electricity crisis are connected, among other things, with the fact that in recent years Europe has invested very little in gas and oil, and investments have gone to other areas.
She added: “Supply is declining while demand remains at its level and even started to rise after the epidemic subsided. Covid-19)” “.
Source: “TASS”