FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) 鈥� Natural gas and electricity prices in Europe have plunged from summer peaks thanks to mild weather and a monthslong scramble to fill gas storage ahead of winter and replace Russian supplies during the . It's a welcome respite after Russia slashed natural gas flows, that has fueled record inflation and a looming recession.
Yet experts warn it's too soon to exhale, even as for people struggling with high utility bills and that have shrunk household budgets and forced some businesses to shut down.
Uncertainties include not only the weather but how responsive people will be to and for scarce energy supplies. And the war a few hours east is a cauldron of possible unpleasant surprises that could cut energy supplies needed for electricity, heating and factory work and send prices sharply higher.
Persistent unknowns are . They are appealing to governments to so that disruptions in supplies of everything from glass to plastics to clean hospital sheets do not .
鈥淲e must remember that we are still in a tense situation 鈥� an economic war between the European Union and Russia in which Russia has weaponized energy supplies,鈥� said Agata Loskot-Strachota, an energy policy expert at the Center for Eastern Studies in Warsaw, Poland.
The good news is natural gas prices on Europe's TTF benchmark fell on Monday below 100 euros (dollars) per megawatt-hour for the first time since June, a 70% drop from late August highs of nearly 350 euros per megawatt-hour. Electricity prices also fell.
While analysts say lower gas prices are allowing European fertilizer producers to restart operations, there鈥檚 like Sven Paar. His commercial laundry in the German town of Wallduern will use around 30,000 euros worth of natural gas this year to run 12 heavy-duty machines that can wash eight tons of hospital and hotel bedsheets and restaurant tablecloths each day.
His local utility says the bill is rising to 165,000 euros next year. On top of that, Paar says he's unsettled by a lack of clarity from the German government on whether laundries like his would be considered essential to the economy and spared cutbacks in case of state-imposed rationing. Reports that the utility regulator is working on sorting out the question aren't enough.
鈥淭he problem is, everyone has heard something, and just hearing something doesn't bring me any planning security,鈥� he said. A letter he sent to the regulator went unanswered.
鈥淭hat's the problem, you hope every day that you don't get a call from someone that says, 鈥楾omorrow you aren't getting any gas,'鈥� he said.
Germany鈥檚 hospital association has taken up the issue on behalf of laundries like his, saying hospitals have mostly outsourced their laundry services and would run out of sheets and surgical drapes within a few days without them.
The German government is working to roll out . The association representing smaller businesses says its understanding is that the government would focus any possible rationing on the 2,500 largest gas users in Germany and mostly spare businesses the size of Paar's.
Helping ease the possibility of rationing is Europe's underground storage getting filled to 94%, compared with 77% at this time last year, which energy expert Loskot-Strachota called 鈥渜uite a success.鈥� A big assist has come from mild weather across Europe, with Warsaw, for example, a relatively balmy 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday.
Germany, once heavily dependent on Russian gas, has filled storage to 97% of capacity, France to 99% and Belgium and Portugal both to 100%. That was achieved by , or LNG, which comes by ship from the U.S. and Qatar instead of by pipeline from Russia, and by increasing pipeline supplies from Norway and Azerbaijan.
The scramble to line up more LNG has led to a backup of tankers off the coast of Spain, a major processor, as orders collide with reduced demand and limited capacity at , which turn boatloads of supercooled LNG back into gas that then flows to homes and businesses.
Spanish gas company Enagas warned last week that it may have to delay or stop tankers from unloading LNG because its storage was almost full. Vessel positioning maps showed at least seven LNG tankers anchored close to Spanish shores Tuesday, though it wasn't clear how many were waiting to unload.
Despite an abundance of LNG and falling prices, Loskot-Strachota said the energy situation remains volatile. She warns that prices for gas to be delivered in December and the 2023 winter months are higher than prices now.
through pipelines in Ukraine and under the Black Sea to Turkey, but losing even the small amount that remains could roil markets. Moscow has blamed the reductions on technical reasons or a refusal to pay in rubles, while European leaders call it blackmail for supporting Ukraine.
EU governments also have been working on proposals including to ease the energy crisis, although the measures would largely affect next year鈥檚 purchases.
Gas use is down 15% in Europe, but that is mostly from factories simply abandoning production that has become unprofitable.
鈥淭his is dangerous 鈥� this hurts the economy, this hurts Europe,鈥� Loskot-Strachota said.
Whether households will join businesses in cutting back by lowering thermostats and turning off lights cannot be determined until the cold weather comes in earnest. Russia's willingness to shows that Russia is ready to escalate despite .
The market also is less flexible because gas reserves will be increasingly used as day-to-day base fuel for heating and generating electricity, rather than as a 鈥渟wing鈥� fuel during times of peak demand such as cold snaps.
鈥淓very event, every problem, weather problem, Russia problem, becomes a factor which sends prices very very high,鈥� Loskot-Strachota said. 鈥淚鈥檓 very happy that we鈥檙e in a calm situation now, but it is nothing that will last for the whole winter.鈥�
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Raquel Redondo contributed from Madrid.
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