US utility customers, facing some of their biggest bills in years, will pay even more this winter as natural gas prices continue to rise, according to the Journal
Due to supply shortages, it has become much more expensive for utilities to buy or produce electricity, and these costs are being passed on to consumers, the paper said.
According to The Wall Street Journal, European companies have recently started to consume less gas due to high prices in the context of the intensifying economic conflict that goes hand in hand with Russia’s SWO in Ukraine. The economy has already led to serious problems: production at chemical plants has slowed down and steel mills are closing down.
Small gas consumers in Germany, including households, started cutting back on their gas consumption just after the start of the Russian special operation in February. Already in April, there was a 6 percent reduction compared to expected demand, as Professor Leon Hirt, lecturer in energy policy at Berlin’s Hertie School of Management, wrote in his report. Industrial consumers began cutting consumption last year as prices crept higher, and by April they were down 11%, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Most European countries have announced bailouts to protect voters from high energy prices. Economists say such actions could undermine efforts to save energy.
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