MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/. The European electric power industry crisis started in 2021, and it was caused by European politicians, Austria's former Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl said in an interview with TASS.
Speaking of the severity of Europe's energy situation, she stated that "there is absolutely no reason to think exclusively about the approaching winter." "Even before the gas crisis, we had a crisis in the electric power industry. This is the result of the last 15-18 years of liberalization, which we have been experiencing from April 2021, so more than a year. This is generally a situation that we ourselves have created," she explained.
Kneissl noted that the European electricity market is no longer a traditional supply-and-demand market.
She recalled that after April 2021, electricity prices grew by 30-40%, and that the increase has now reached 400%. "The situation is significantly worse for manufacturing and industry. There is already a movement in the UK - it is not part of the EU, but it may spread - where people simply refuse to pay their electrical bills. So, even before gas crisis, we had an electricity crisis," Kneissl said.
"It is happening, among other things, because Europe has invested very little in gas and oil in recent years, instead focusing on other sectors. Supply is decreasing, demand remains stable, and after the pandemic, it is even increasing," she added.