Europe has never paid so much for energy – Cost-record in 2021

Europe has never paid as much for electricity as in 2021.

According to Bloomberg, the average cost of electricity for short-term delivery is heading to close the year at record levels, rising more than 200% in Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom. In the Scandinavian countries – where huge hydroelectric supplies tend to cut prices – costs have skyrocketed by 470% compared to last year.

The energy crisis is leaving consumers and large industries with growing bills as 2022 approaches. Metallurgists from France to Spain have already been forced to cut production, and some factories have been forced to shut down production altogether.

And there does not seem to be any “relief” on the horizon. Even if 2021 ends with mild weather – which eases the demand for heat and electricity – households will face price increases in the coming years when wholesale costs are passed on. Industries will also have to deal with even more limited supplies in January, when about 30% of the French nuclear fleet will be shut down.

Europe’s energy crisis was the result of a shortage of gas just as demand recovered after the 2020 lockdown. energy companies in the area to use polluting fossil fuels.

As companies burned coal, lignite and even oil to meet demand, the cost of purchasing pollution licenses skyrocketed. Coal futures contracts – already facing price increases due to Brussels’ climate agenda – more than doubled to around € 80 per metric tonne ($ 90.5) this year, increasing electricity costs.