While Europe is still burning under high temperatures, some are already stocking up on stoves. Wait, stoves in the middle of August? Yes. One of the worst winters we are going to experience (due to the dire current energy situation) is just around the corner. Meanwhile, governments are trying to secure new gas suppliers to ensure heating stays on this winter as the war in Ukraine forces a cut off of dependence on Russian gas. Europeans will have no choice but to reduce their consumption. French President Emmanuel Macron was already warning of a “scenario in which we have to get by without Russian gas.”
That means one thing: a return to electric stoves.
No gas, no heating. The problem has worsened this summer, especially since Russia’s state-owned company Gazprom cut off gas supplies in Nord Stream 1 to just 40% capacity. It must be remembered that this gas pipeline provides gas to Germany, no less than 35% of its reserves (before the war it was 55%). France is less dependent, but it will be affected: it imports 17%. On the other hand, Putin has already stopped sending gas to Finland, Poland and Bulgaria. And now there is a “big risk” that Moscow will do the same to the entire continent.
That is why the price of gas has skyrocketed across Europe, tripling in Germany this year. And it is thanks to this rise caused by the shortage that consumption has already fallen by up to 10% in Europe. And winter is yet to come.
What happens to the average citizen. Articles like this are already swarming in the Berlin press: “Should I invest in an electric heater this winter?” With gas prices on the rise in Germany and the fear of not being able to pay the heating bill (or even use it at all), stoves are among the many home-heating devices already filling German store shelves. .
A picture is worth a thousand words.
On the hunt for a stove. Sales of stoves and other electric heaters are on the rise. Some 600,000 gadgets were sold in Germany in the first six months of 2022, according to market research firm GFK, a 35% increase from 2021. From June, that figure could be bigger: DIY chain Hornbach counted that demand would increase by 500%.
The popular Eisen Doring store, which has been in the electrical business for 120 years in Berlin, pointed out in this Euronews article that it keeps repeating to people that it has no more stoves left and cannot guarantee when suppliers will bring more. “Everything is completely sold out. Everyone wants to buy them because if you don’t have gas, it’s cold at home,” explained the owner.
Problems. The first of these is that it is not clear how much people could save, and even if it will be lost to them. Right now, the price of electricity in Germany is currently at an average of 30 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to oil and gas at 15 cents per kilowatt hour. This means that using stoves would cost almost twice as much as using a radiator. And some experts also warn of another big problem: if too many of these devices are turned on at the same time, there is a risk of massive blackouts.
To future. The European Union’s plan is quite clear: replace gas with renewable energies. But carrying out the conversion will take more time. No longer able to make up the deficit, some countries like the Netherlands have already suspended environmental regulations to increase coal production and generate electricity, despite how polluting it is. It is one of the sad consequences of the energy crisis. Go back to what we wanted to bury forever.