Europe has overcome the energy crisis and gas prices have started to fall

The sharp rise in gas and electricity prices has led to an energy crisis in Europe. But significant gas reserves, warm winters and the use of renewable energy sources helped overcome the crisis.

In January, average gas prices on European exchanges did not exceed 30 euros per megawatt hour, while in 2022 peak prices were 10 times higher.

However, in 2023, during the period of low prices, European countries were able to accumulate record gas reserves in underground storages, which made it possible to overcome the crisis. In addition, it was possible to reduce the need for gas through the active use of renewable energy sources, especially solar and wind. According to Eurostat, their share in EU electricity in 2023 increased by 2.5% to 37.5% compared to 2022.

A warm winter also helped Europe. According to the European Center for Medium-Term Weather Forecasts, in December the average temperature in Europe exceeded the norm by 1.5 ^o C, and the cooling in January will be insignificant.

As of January 10, underground storages in the EU were filled with gas by 80%, which was 10% higher than the corresponding figure for 2022. This will be enough for the rest of the winter, so we can already talk about the stabilization of the European gas market.

Tags: EU, prices