China News Agency, Berlin, October 14, Question: Winter is approaching and energy prices are high How can the German people spend the winter in the heat?
China News Agency reporter Ma Xiuxiu
After the Ukrainian crisis, the relevant influence continued to spread, during which Germany, which participated in Western sanctions against Russia, was “spiked”. The energy crisis, the rise in prices, the involvement of industry … The German people are under pressure under the chain reaction.
Now that autumn in Germany is deepening and winter is approaching, how can people keep warm during the winter?
High energy prices are weighing on the economy
With the Ukrainian crisis, gas prices in Europe have risen. Since the beginning of this year, the price of the benchmark Dutch natural gas futures TTF, known as the “weather vane” of European natural gas prices, has reached a high of 339.2 euros / MWh on 26 August.
Recently, incidents such as the natural gas leak from the “North Stream” pipeline have aggravated the crisis in Ukraine and uncertainty about Russia’s gas supply in Europe has intensified the “anxiety” of the European natural gas market.
In the context of high energy prices, the German economy was hit once. Inflation has risen, prices have risen and the consumer price index has remained high; at the same time, the number of bankrupt German companies also increased significantly due to the high prices of important inputs, including energy costs, and people employment was affected.
According to data released by the German Institute for Economic Research (IWH) on the 10th, the number of bankruptcies of German partnerships and joint-stock companies in September increased 34% year-over-year to 762. Among the largest companies in the 10% who filed for bankruptcy in September, 6,600 jobs were affected. The number of German corporate bankruptcies is expected to continue to increase significantly in the coming months.
On a macro level, the German government’s autumn economic forecast report released on the 12th lowered its forecast for German economic growth this year and next. The German economy is expected to grow by 1.4% this year and shrink by 0.4% next year. This is significantly lower than the growth forecast of 2.2% and 2.5% for this year and next in this spring’s economic forecast report.
People are under pressure to protest “savings” and “open source” spending control.
The European energy crisis is not a “cold day”. Before the Ukrainian crisis, the whole of Europe was plagued by an energy crisis last winter. At that time, prices were rising and the tension between supply and demand became predominant: some residents with lower economic incomes preferred to suffer the cold to save money.
This year, as the weather becomes colder and in the face of high energy prices, people’s dissatisfaction is piling up and demonstrations and protests have occurred from time to time.
On 25 September, local time, more than 3,000 people from all over Germany gathered in Lubmin, the destination of the “Nord Stream-2” pipeline, to protest against the government’s energy policy and demand that the government immediately end the sanctions. energy against Russia in order to reduce energy consumption price.
On 8 October, local time, thousands of protesters gathered in front of the parliament building in Berlin to express their dissatisfaction with the government’s energy policy and demand the lifting of sanctions against Russia. Some held signs saying “I want Russian oil and gas” and “Hush today, freeze tomorrow”.
On the other hand, most Germans see “savings” and “open source” in the search for alternatives to natural gas as two ways to reduce the consumption of high-priced gas.
To control natural gas costs, many Germans choose to lower the heating temperature and reduce usage times. According to another report, since this summer electric heaters and electric blankets are selling well in Europe and “wood heating”, which has gradually withdrawn from the historical phase, has begun to re-enter German households.
Constant growth in gas storage, the government intends to reduce the burden on people
For a long time, Germany relied heavily on energy imports from Russia, including natural gas and oil. As part of the sanctions against Russia, in order to achieve the goal of reducing or even eliminating its energy dependence on Russia and at the same time meeting its own supply needs, Germany sought alternative sources of natural gas from Canada, which are important oil and gas countries in the Middle East and other places.
According to German media reports, natural gas storage in Germany has been growing steadily since July 19. German officials have repeatedly reiterated that their natural gas supply is safe. Data from the European Gas Infrastructure Organization (GIE) on the evening of the 13th showed that the filling level of German natural gas storage facilities reached 95.14%. This has already achieved Germany’s previous target of 95% by 1 November.
On the other hand, the German government announced in late September that it would invest 200 billion euros in response to rising energy prices. Of this, more than 100 billion euros go to households and businesses, mainly to subsidize electricity and gas bills, and the rest to subsidize energy companies. At the same time, in order to reduce the pressure on the payment of households and businesses, the natural gas surcharge originally scheduled for October will be canceled.
By taking multiple measures, to what extent is it possible to lighten the burden on the German people? Winter is approaching, can people stay warm during the winter? become an important test for the federal government today. (End)
