Threat of energy shortages mount as Moscow stops gas supply to Europe for 3 days
Russia claims pipeline closure is 'routine maintenance,' Germany says Russia is playing politics
The Russia state-owned energy giant Gazprom said Friday that it will once again shut off gas supplies to Europe as concerns mount over European energy shortages ahead to the winter months.
Gas supplied through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will cease from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 for "routine maintenance" but comes just one month after the energy company restored natural gas to a fifth of the pipeline’s capacity after a maintenance closure.
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline connects Russia to Europe. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber / AP Newsroom)
RUSSIA'S GAZPROM CUTS GAS TO GERMANY, DENMARK OVER RUBLE FIGHT
Russia said the gas shut off was down to technical problems on the pipeline – which links western Russia and Germany – but German officials rejected these claims and said it was a political move amid its war in Ukraine.
Moscow has cut gas to several European nations including Germany, Denmark, Poland, Bulgaria, Finland and the Netherlands after they refused to pay for energy supplies in the Russian ruble – a stipulation Russian President Vladimir Putin began enforcing in March.
UKRAINE TO DOUBLE ENERGY EXPORTS AMID RUSSIAN GAS CUTS TO EUROPE
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting on economic issues via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday, June 7. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP / Associated Press)
Natural gas prices, which have skyrocketed in 2022, rose again on Friday making the price for the energy commodity twice as high as one year ago.
Countries in the European Union have not only seen widespread inflation and the looming threat of a recession, but officials are concerned how the natural gas shortages will impact Europeans in the coming winter months.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Germany’s Economy Ministry said it was "monitoring the situation in close cooperation with the Federal Network Agency," which regulates the gas market. "Gas flows through Nord Stream 1 are currently unchanged at 20%."
Gazprom said the planned maintenance on a key compressor station along the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will be conducted in coordination with its German partner Siemens Energy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.