Wave Of German Insolvencies Picks Up Speed…”Tenfold Increase in Gas, Electricity Prices”

From the NoTricksZone

By P Gosselin 

As Germany’s electricity and natural gas prices soar, a wave of companies – some having a long tradition – are filing insolvency. Many midsize companies rely on natural gas as a source of energy, but prices have multiplied since early this year.

Blackout News here reports toilet paper maker Hakle has filed for insolvency, citing “increased energy costs”.

“Tenfold increase in gas and electricity prices”

Others include shoe retailer Görtz, who cite low sales as consumers cut back on their discretionary spending, and automobile supplier Dr. Schneider. Steel producer ArcelorMittal in Hamburg und Bremen are also following.

“With a tenfold increase in gas and electricity prices, which we had to accept within a few months, we are no longer competitive in a market that is 25% supplied by imports. We see an urgent need for political action to get energy prices under control immediately,” said Reiner Blaschek, CEO of ArcelorMittal Germany (Financial Market World).

Another industry sector facing extreme hardship is the bakery industry, which relies heavily of affordable energy. According to Blackout News: “For bakeries, the energy crisis is now worse than the Corona pandemic, according to industry sources. ‘We have the problem as a micro baker that we have to adjust our prices to the raw material and energy prices, of course, which also burdens the customer, if he is also a bit tighter on cash,’ says an affected baker from Heilbronn.”

One baker in our local area has seen his monthly gas bills go from 3000 euros earlier this year to 11,000 euros!

“Severe and long-lasting recession”

The wave of insolvencies has just begun, and is “picking up speed”, writes Blackout News. “What we are seeing now is just the tip of an iceberg. Increased energy prices are affecting all industries, whether directly, as in the case of steel mills and bakeries, or indirectly, as in the case of shoe retailer Görtz. If politicians do not take countermeasures here, Germany will fall into a severe and long-lasting recession, with mass unemployment and a massive loss of prosperity.”

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marlene
September 11, 2022 10:03 pm

What happens in Germany doesn’t stay in Germany. Expect the same.

Reply to  marlene
September 11, 2022 10:27 pm

And it is not yet winter.

Bryan A
Reply to  Retired_Engineer_Jim
September 12, 2022 5:12 am

Hmmm…
Massive loss of prosperity
Mass Unemployment
Long lasting Recession
Sounds like someone is too dependent on Clean Renewables (Ruinables) AND the whims of a Hemorrhoid named Putin

MarkW
Reply to  Bryan A
September 12, 2022 8:09 am

Massive loss of prosperity

Mass Unemployment

Long lasting Recession

Sounds like the 1930’s all over again. Dangerous times.

Robertvd
Reply to  MarkW
September 12, 2022 9:11 am

You forgot the world war they need to stay in power.

Reply to  MarkW
September 12, 2022 10:21 am

With the report of 60% of UK factories possibly going under, could be even worse than that.

Reply to  marlene
September 12, 2022 5:30 am

Trump warned the Germans about being dependent on Russian energy – they giggled – who’s giggling now?

Gerry, England
Reply to  Antigriff
September 12, 2022 6:44 am

Seems the econutjob in charge of the failure to supply electricity is looking at diesel powered generating barges the likes of which are found in Third World countries that can’t afford – or get finance for – power stations. This comes after his idea that nuclear power plants can be used as a reserve to come into operation as and when. Who would have thought Germany could reduced to a basket case so quickly.

BrentC
Reply to  Gerry, England
September 12, 2022 11:56 am

Many sensible analysts and researchers predicted this scenario at least a decade ago. It’s not been a quick conversion to basket case; it’s been a slow-moving runaway train that’s now hit the wall.

The dependency on Russian gas only accelerated the train but it was going to hit the wall in the next few years.

Catapult
Reply to  Gerry, England
September 15, 2022 11:45 am

Klaus Schwab. All according to plan.

John the Econ
Reply to  Antigriff
September 12, 2022 6:45 am

Nobody, really.

Drake
Reply to  John the Econ
September 12, 2022 3:46 pm

Sorry but I AM.

Woke deserves to go broke.

MarkW
Reply to  Antigriff
September 12, 2022 8:09 am

For those who were doing the giggling, this was the plan all along.

Robertvd
Reply to  marlene
September 12, 2022 9:08 am

But politicians will not solve the problem they have created in conjunction with the ECB and the Federal Reserve. Mass printing ‘money’ to ‘stimulate’ the economy will always destroy the economy. They use Covid and Putin as an excuse for their failure.

TruthBetold
Reply to  marlene
September 15, 2022 11:23 am

If the cost of electricity/energy in Germany is really 10x what it was recently, there is one inescapable conclusion… It is far less expensive to produce your own power…

Such things are surprisingly easy and inexpensive, even with the up front costs… Costs that would seem to likely pay for themselves in THIS heating season at the rates being publicized…

Being off grid can be a grind… There’s a lot of planning, “watt watching”, and structuring energy use to minimize peak usage spikes… But the technology is “off the shelf”, standard car batteries are remarkably inexpensive and effective for energy storage, (and have amazing recycling programs), and combination power and heat small boilers are stunningly efficient, and can be powered by virtually any energy source available, from wood through bio-fuels… You can grow and/or harvest your own energy sources… There are multitudes of options, depending on resources available…

Government loses huge swaths of control over the individual when they can’t control energy… Which is why they hate the petro industries that are mostly private, (outside of the Rockefeller companies)…

Notice the government never proposes removing government dams for environmental reasons… They try to make it appear so in reporting, but only actually target private hydropower production…

Dave
Reply to  marlene
September 15, 2022 11:32 am

We are already subsidizing europe with our oil reserves and natural gas! Prices are higher here, in part, because of bidet’s dum sh*t. and giving away our resources.

John Sandhofner
September 11, 2022 10:35 pm

All of Europe needs to forget the Green Energy garbage and fire up the old coal and gas fired generators. Someone needs to show some leadership and common sense.

Peter
Reply to  John Sandhofner
September 11, 2022 11:18 pm

You have your example already, look for example on Poland, they were getting sanctions because of mining coal and using it to make electricity.
Look on Slovakia, where 55% of electricity comes from Nuclear, with opening of new reactor in January 2022 it will be 65%, 14% is hydro, 7% coal, 7% other renewables.
Common Sense changed to Green Fog in front of eyes…

Reply to  John Sandhofner
September 11, 2022 11:19 pm

Working in a coal fired power station is so 20th century. Where in the developed world is combustion engineering being taught?

What young professional engineer wants to begin a career in a coal fired power station? They are all destined to the scrapheap of history. If any could be restarted they will present health and safety risks because they have deteriorated and the expertise to maintain and operate them is diminishing.

Germany needs to let go of the idea of making stuff. Australia abandoned that silly idea years ago and just supplies inputs to Chinese manufacturers to convert them. Germany could probably ride on its engineering expertise being transferred to China over the next couple of decades. It is simply a transfer of reliance from Russia for energy to China for manufactured goods. Next time a German wipes their arse they can thank China for making that possible by supplying arse paper. Germany could probably export wood chips to China to make the paper as the forests are cut down to install wind turbines; also made in China.

The reason Nut Zero will never be achieved is that China cannot possibly manufacture that much useless crap before they run out of coal.

tonyb
Editor
Reply to  RickWill
September 12, 2022 2:58 am

Making things? So 20th century.

The new Silk road could be reconfigured as a giant conveyor belt from China to Europe thereby cutting out all that tedious non green shipping.

Fortunately the transfer of vast sums of money back to China can be done electronically, so can be very green.

Bryan A
Reply to  tonyb
September 12, 2022 5:16 am

Just be certain to pay them with Freshly Minted Yuan

Felix
Reply to  tonyb
September 12, 2022 9:04 am

The advantage of a conveyor belt is its one-way nature; no need to return empty ships and rail cars. Just attach cash to the underside.

Reply to  RickWill
September 12, 2022 6:42 am

Or send the wood chips to Drax in UK? Or use them for heat in Germany this winter?

Reply to  RickWill
September 12, 2022 7:22 am

I just rode in a BMW X7, designed in Germany, assembled in the Third World, including North Carolina.

It costs about $80,000, with some extras, or $1,100/month, on lease with $5000 down.
It beats everything else I have ridden in by a mile.

Felix
Reply to  willem post
September 12, 2022 9:05 am

Beats them at what? Dead weight? Percentages of garages burnt down while charging? Cost per mile?

MarkW
Reply to  willem post
September 12, 2022 9:21 am

How many people can afford an $80,000 car? Most families need two cars.

Reply to  willem post
September 12, 2022 9:46 am

Electric, hybrid, or ICE? Which engine?

Reply to  Dennis Topczewski
September 13, 2022 8:28 pm

Diesel! Get one BEFORE the greenies ruined them in cars. Mine were running on used/filtered cooking oil, but now run on 75% used/filtered motor oil mixed with 25% used/filtered ATF from a local garage. All my diesels are recycling oil/ATF. ’83 Mercedes 300TD, 88 Chevy 6.2L DD V8, Yanmar powered 33KW genset.

Paul Penrose
Reply to  willem post
September 12, 2022 4:44 pm

Around here $1100/Month is a mortgage on a modest house. Who can afford to pay that much for a vehicle that isn’t practical to drive for half the year (when it’s damn cold)?

ron
Reply to  Paul Penrose
September 15, 2022 10:16 am

And that’s LEASED, don’t forget – money down a hole. He doesn’t even have a car after paying that for three years!

Reply to  willem post
September 12, 2022 6:21 pm

assembled in the Third World, including North Carolina.

North Carolina does have an idiot governor (Democrat, of course) and a state Supreme Court that thinks it’s all powerful, but that hardly makes it Third World…especially compared to Germany these days.

tgasloli
Reply to  John Sandhofner
September 11, 2022 11:23 pm

It isn’t just the green energy garbage it is the insane foreign policy of destroying all of Europe for the corrupt oligarchs of the Ukraine.

ozspeaksup
Reply to  tgasloli
September 12, 2022 3:55 am

I see -elensky is going to lecture/beg? the usa mil ind chappies shortly
to beg/do deals for lotsa new toys on loan/appro/development

Reply to  ozspeaksup
September 12, 2022 5:07 am

Our defense contractors have facilities in every US state / district, which is why there is ‘bipartisan support’ for Ukraine.

Gerry, England
Reply to  Frank from NoVA
September 12, 2022 6:49 am

It was probably the defence industry that ensured NATO continued even after the end of the Soviet Union and WarPac countries became free and prevented the new Russia from being helped into the new world. Doesn’t look such a good idea now that Russian patience has snapped.

MarkW
Reply to  tgasloli
September 12, 2022 8:13 am

Putin may not be able to afford a military, but he can still afford trolls.

Klaus
Reply to  MarkW
September 15, 2022 1:12 pm

[invalid email-mod]

Reply to  John Sandhofner
September 11, 2022 11:49 pm

Sadly, common sense is a rarity these days

Reply to  Redge
September 12, 2022 9:30 am

Common sense requires actually doing something. We are being run by people that have an ideology without practical experience.
Going through the trials and tribulations of making something or managing something allows people to see what works in the real world.

It always makes me cringe when a politician uses the term “common sense”. So many of them have only been politicians their whole life.

Biden has been in political office for close to fifty years and his lack of common sense has always been apparent or it has been directed toward his own benefit. His dementia has not made it better.
His only skill has been to appeal to emotions and get his relatives to be his bagmen for his criminal enterpise – the Biden Crime Family.
Just my opinion.

Teddy Lee
Reply to  John Sandhofner
September 12, 2022 4:18 am

The Green Idiots have destroyed most of the UK power stations.The establishment (fifth column,Marxists politicians) have made sure there is no immediate return for base load generation.
These cretins need to pay!

Reply to  Teddy Lee
September 13, 2022 8:33 pm

And UK sits on a huge mountain of carbonized dinosaurs to fuel UK forever…

Reply to  John Sandhofner
September 12, 2022 4:39 am

Its not just that they have to fire up the coal and gas fired generators. I will add nuclear to that as well. What the Europeans need to do is start producing the fuel instead of importing it from a different location. Germany has lots of coal, they simply refuse to mine it. Fracking has been banned in many places in Europe, reducing the Natural gas supply. The driver for the high costs is a supply issue as well as a demand issue. Europe has not been making any supply outside of Norway for most fossil fuels.

TruthBetold
Reply to  John Sandhofner
September 15, 2022 10:39 am

[invalid email-mod]

Joel
September 11, 2022 10:39 pm

This may get repetitive but just keep telling yourself: They voted for the policies that have lead them to this situation. In theory they have the ability to vote for policies which will fix this situation. What happens next will be very instructive.

Reply to  Joel
September 11, 2022 10:54 pm

I didn’t vote for these idiots to be in charge, why do I have to keep paying for their lunacy ?

Reply to  Jeroen B.
September 11, 2022 11:51 pm

Because that’s democracy for you.

Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…’

~Winston S Churchill,

Reply to  Redge
September 12, 2022 3:23 am

We have oligarchies dressed up as democracies and
mega monopolies dressed up as ordinary capitalism.

Drake
Reply to  Michael in Dublin
September 12, 2022 3:54 pm

Crony Capitalism. US Oligarchs control Twitter, U Tube, Facebook, the MSM owners, etc. to the benefit of the Democrats which give back to the oligarchs.

Reply to  Jeroen B.
September 12, 2022 1:02 am

In the European union, no one votes for these idiots. They appoint themselves.
The EU is just another communist state disguised as a democracy. That’s why Biden supports it

Germany will learn a hard lesson here, but the rest of Europe will be better off.

Reply to  Leo Smith
September 12, 2022 4:11 am

Correction:
Germany will learn a hard lesson here, but most of the rest of Europe will NOT be better off

Felix
Reply to  Leo Smith
September 12, 2022 9:10 am

I remember how astounded I was when I first learned how far removed the EUcrats are from any voter accountability. Elections are pretty damned pointless in any but the most local and focused districts (school board, fire protection), but EUcrats are protected by layers and layers of unaccountable copies of themselves. Makes the US system of government employees defining government limits look actually responsive to the people in comparison.

ron
Reply to  Leo Smith
September 15, 2022 10:31 am

But people vote for the “leaders” who make countries part of the globalist eu.

MarkW
Reply to  Jeroen B.
September 12, 2022 8:14 am

Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.

John Smith
Reply to  Joel
September 12, 2022 1:53 am

The problem in the EU is that those in charge are unelected bureaucrats.

Reply to  John Smith
September 12, 2022 9:33 am

That problem is rampant all over the world including the U.S.

Reply to  Joel
September 12, 2022 3:43 am

In theory yes. But there are no (serious) political parties offering a practical alternative – who would we vote for?

ron
Reply to  mark
September 15, 2022 10:31 am

The people who say, “get us out of the eu!!”

YallaYPoora Kid
September 11, 2022 10:39 pm

So the activists are achieving what they set out to do; make energy so expensive industry stops using it because they have close their businesses. What could go wrong other than the bleeding obvious?

Rhys Jaggar
Reply to  YallaYPoora Kid
September 11, 2022 10:45 pm

The activists are actually saying that the only food that it is acceptable to eat now involves that which you can eat raw.

So eliminate potatoes, eliminate all dough-based products, eliminate rice. All the staples gone right there.

Eliminate all animal meat, eliminate all pulses.

What does it leave? Fruit that is challenging to store (deep freezes being banned). A minority of nuts. Some summer vegetables that don’t stand through winter.

September 11, 2022 10:54 pm

Just love the way Germany turned off 2 NPP last christmas / new year!
CONGRATULATIONS!

That was already months after the big army build-up had started on the Ukraine border and more than a year after the Lukashenko fraudulent elections.

Germany, blind, deaf, dumb and led down those paths by the arch-stasi friend Merckel, the corrupt Schroeder, and the greenies financed by Putin’s best mates led on by that nasty propaganda factory A-hole Prighozin.

Reply to  pigs_in_space
September 12, 2022 1:04 am

Yup. Can’t disagree with any of that. European skies full of the sound of crashing pigs, and energy turkeys coming home to roost.

Gerald
Reply to  pigs_in_space
September 12, 2022 1:33 am

Germany is even going to top this stupidity because they decided to shut-down the remaining (most modern) 3 NPPs by the end of this year without having any replacement. The German Minister for Economy (Robert Habeck) from the Green Party is stubbornly resisting all urgent calls to leave them open. Compared with him even Forrest Gump looks like a genius. The only concession by him was that 2 of the 3 should be put on emergency reserve (which was never done with a NPP before!) for additional 6 months. With each passing week it becomes more unlikely that Germany can even keep the NPPs running in case they revise their decision and decide to keep the NPPs running, because fuel rods will be depleted and no replacement was ordered yet (and can’t be delivered quickly).

IanE
Reply to  pigs_in_space
September 12, 2022 2:24 am

Coming (or already there) to a country not a million miles away.

September 12, 2022 12:58 am

Surely Energiewende will save them!!
What’s the German for ‘Schadenfreude’

Reply to  Leo Smith
September 12, 2022 4:42 am

What’s the German for ‘Schadenfreude’?
Schadenfreude. It is a German word.

MarkW
Reply to  Rico Suave
September 12, 2022 8:18 am

Sarcasm appears to be lost on you.

Reply to  Rico Suave
September 12, 2022 8:56 am

Whooosh …

September 12, 2022 1:14 am

You Europeans are not aware that you have gone in reverse towards America, and you do not know that you cannot get there for several reasons!
Your main dumber of your people is England, as you are not aware that it left the EUROPEAN COMMUNITY.
WISE UP AND TRY AGAIN TO FORM EUROPE AS PROPOSED BY THE FRENCH GENERAL DE GALL.
If you continue to listen to the Americans and their allies from your countries, be sure that EUROPE, AS IT WAS, WILL NEVER BE AGAIN.

fretslider
Reply to  Nikola Milovic
September 12, 2022 1:38 am

De Gall? Bladder?

“Your main dumber of your people is England,”

I thought it was the rampant wokeism in the US

MarkW
Reply to  Nikola Milovic
September 12, 2022 8:20 am

Better yet, Europe can join Putin’s reformed Soviet Union. Isn’t that right comrade.

Reply to  MarkW
September 12, 2022 9:43 am

Some may prefer to join China because that form of government is touted by the WEF to be superior to all that messiness of listening to citizens. Slavery, work camps, and organ harvesting is preferred to putting up with all those “useless eaters”.

MarkW
Reply to  Brad-DXT
September 12, 2022 3:00 pm

A few politicians in Russia were recently arrested for saying that Putin should be arrested. Apparently criticizing the boss is considered a form of treason in Russia.

Reply to  MarkW
September 12, 2022 10:58 pm

What, they weren’t summarily executed?
Such wokeness would not be tolerated within the efficient auspices of the CCP.

R.Hammond
September 12, 2022 1:30 am

About a month ago….a major industry person for hotels/restaurants spoke up in Germany and said that half the people they speak for….are preparing bankruptcy papers for early 2023. They don’t see that many hotels surviving, and restaurants will only survive if they raise menu prices and lessen hours open (for heating purposes). Going to be a harsh reality and serious financial decline for all of 2023, and probably going into 2024 as well.

Mike Lowe
Reply to  R.Hammond
September 12, 2022 3:30 am

So that’s the German tourist industry gone, and other countries’ tourism badly damaged even if they can survive. So there will be enormous numbers of unemployed peole becoming burdens on the taxpayer. I wonder whether that will compel the politicians to wake up and reverse some of their suicidal policies? Even if they do, any corrective action will take many months – or years – to produce any benefits. Shame these idiots were not reading WUWT for the past 10 or more years!

Bob
Reply to  R.Hammond
September 15, 2022 9:57 am

The war, the sanctions, and German hardship will continue until Germany supplies a thousand tanks to Ukraine.

fretslider
September 12, 2022 1:31 am

THE European Central Bank is set to announce a crucial decision, described as a “make or break moment”, in hours as it attempts to claw back the eurozone from crisis.

https://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/1666373/euro-to-dollar-exchange-rate-ecb-interest-hike-eurozone-crisis-eu-news-russia-gas

Even the currency is wobbly

Derek Wood
September 12, 2022 1:38 am

As far as I can tell, Not one of the populations in the European countries voted in a Government on the strength of the Net Zero agenda. This has been introduced by the politicians, and appears to be totally unmandated anywhere.

Reply to  Derek Wood
September 12, 2022 3:54 am

Not strictly or technically true. In the UK Net Zero is mandated by law (not merely an aspiration) and was in the conservative manifesto at the last election.

Of course in practice that vote was largely a confirmation of the brexit referendum result, and people were not specifically saying “yeah, Net Zero, bring it on”

Dave Andrews
Reply to  mark
September 12, 2022 8:01 am

The last election in the UK was all about Brexit. Other matters hardly got a mention

Felix
Reply to  Dave Andrews
September 12, 2022 9:17 am

Behold the utility of one vote every few years which stands for everything which might happen in the next few years!

Reply to  Dave Andrews
September 12, 2022 11:27 am

Conservative manifesto:

We will lead the global fight against climate change by delivering on our world-leading target of Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as advised by the independent Committee on Climat change.

It might of hardly got mentioned, (because it’s a death warrant), but there it is in black and white.

… not to mention…

we will help lower energy bills by investing £9.2 billion in the energy efficiency of homes, schools and hospitals.

Wonder how they’re feeling now?

conservative-2019-manifesto.png
Reply to  mark
September 12, 2022 9:33 am

Was there a UK political party which didn’t support Net Zero in their agenda? Who could you vote for to vote against Net Zero?

Eric Harpham
Reply to  Jtom
September 12, 2022 12:43 pm

No. All parties likely, even remotely likely, to form a government, supported the push for Net Zero.

The only thing that consoles me is that any law passed by Parliament (in this case the Climate Change Act 2008) can be repealed by Parliament. So when common sense begins to reappear amongst our politicians this stupid policy can be thrown into reverse. Just hope it is not too late and that the necessary knowledge hasn’t been lost.

michel
September 12, 2022 1:51 am

If politicians do not take countermeasures here, Germany will fall into a severe and long-lasting recession, with mass unemployment and a massive loss of prosperity.

Whatever counter measures politicians take, here and elsewhere, this is what will happen. You cannot raise the price of energy by a factor of three, four or more without this happening. There has been a massive loss of wealth in Europe and the UK. So far its not worked through to purchasing and employment. But it will in the coming winter, and when it does, people are going to cut out all the non-essential purchases.

And many businesses, particularly in the consumer goods sectors, will be confronted at the same time with a fall in demand and rising costs. They will close.

September 12, 2022 2:07 am

How is it possible to have sympathy here..

These folks:

  • wanted efficiency
  • wanted ‘just in time delivery’
  • wanted low to zero waste
  • wanted The Market to set low prices
  • wanted competition
  • wanted cheap cheap cheap
  • wanted more more more

and they got all those things. Fantastic, How Lovely.

But in that pursuit they destroyed

  • redundancy
  • spare capacity (goods, services, food, finance, forgiveness..)
  • jobs
  • inventory in warehouses and stores
  • local suppliers

They contructed an extremely fragile supply chain and delivery system for both goods and services that took only One Tiny Little Thing to knock it off its rails

They got that too
Sorry peeps, you made your bed, now lie in it

“Lie” as in ‘repose’ ‘rest’ ‘relax’ ‘have a good time’
Not “lie” as in mendacity – as you’ve been doing for decades now.
See the Cause & Effect (edit missed word) Error come to bite your collective arse?

<wonders> What will happen when Autistics Rule The World as they will by year = 2050
Because: They don’t tell lies, they have empathy and they are not relentlessly selfish little shits.
also wonders, How will the grotesque Cause/Effect Error that is Climate Change pan out…………….

Gerald
September 12, 2022 2:35 am

It’s not just Germany, the whole EU is due to the stupid Green Energy Transition and the dependency on Russian gas on the brink of an Energy collapse. Here is the lead article of Austrian Newspaper diepresse (translated by me) summarizing it quite well:

Do we even understand which Energy-Tsunami rolls towards us?

In short term chaotic in midterm without conclusive plan: With this the European Energypolicy wont be able to deal with the biggest energy crisis since 1945.

So they will skim off excessive profits and perhaps loosen the expensive and nonsensical coupling of the price of electricity to that of imported gas, as well as imposing a gas cap on gas from Russian Gazprom. Thats what the ministers for Energy of all EU-countries decided last friday. Which means they didn’t yet decide it, because they don’t want to rush. But at least they plan to go in this direction.

Especially the price cap on Russian gas will be exciting. Who wants to know in advance how Gazprom will react on this can do a small experiment: Just tell your local supplier that you are going to cap your payments after your own imaginations and watch what will be the reaction.

But lets stay serious. Because that’s what the situation is. Also because only a few have realized yet which Tsunami is actually rolling towards us. To estimate the dimension lets make a quick calculation. The actual situation is as follows: Only a small protion of the increased energy prices has reached private and commercial end customers yet. But the increases will hit them in full, if we don’t manage to stop the trend very soon.

At the moment electric energy is traded at the stock exchange for the 1st quartal 2023 with prices around 600€/MWh or even more. If such prices stay permanent, then private households and companies will have to spend 40 billion € just for electricity in the coming year. It was 3.5 billion before the crisis.

The energy bill is exploding

Including the thermal sector and the traffic (because also prices for gas, coal, wood and fuel are increasing sharply) the overall energy bill is going to explode from 14 billion € before the crisis to regions of 90 to 100 billion € (without taxes and tariffs). Which means from 3.5% of GDP to roughly 20%. Within shortest time. When the energy bill reaches regions of the total annual tax volume of the state, there will not be any financial reserves to cap the energy bills. No economy in the world can withstand such a thing. None!

Of course it is an extreme scenario. But none which is completely unlikely if we don’t do everything to turn the tide. There we are missing the drive. And the necessary seriousity: To switch off working power plants or to put them on emergency reserve within the biggest crisis of energy supply since WW2 is something that makes you doubt the intelligence of the actors (remark: he is refering on the plant shut-down of the last 3 NPPs in Germany by end of 2022).

And there is even more. It won’t be over after the coming (possibly bitter) winter. The Energy Transition is not just at risk, because it’s supporting pillars (electrification of all aspects of life which means sharp increase of electricity consumption and gas as buffer energy) collapsed. It’s also failing in infrastructural aspects. In Austria there are first PV-constructors not getting a contract to feed their electricity into the grid due to transformators and local grid being too weak.

We are stumbling into Energy Chaos

Where are the big plans (beside too lax plans for wind mill and PV construction) for the expansion of the power grid and storages, for the full usage of remaining hydroelectric potential and yes, also the use of our abundant domestic gas reserves? (Remark: Austria has shale gas reserves to satisfy domestic demand for 30-40yrs, but necessary fracking technology was banned by EU). Who is going to redirect the subsidies in this directions? Is there anything we can see here or in another European country?

In short term chaotic and in midterm without conclusive plan: Thus the Energy Transition is guaranteed to fail and we are stumbling directly into Energy chaos.

That’s a real danger for Europa as still wealthy region. This crisis requires a real effort. Childish hooray-patriotism like “We are going to show it to Putin by freezing a little bit and afterwards all will be fine again” will solve nothing. For this there already went too much wrong in energy policiy before the Russion invasion in Ukraine.

JiminNEF
Reply to  Gerald
September 12, 2022 3:43 am

Thank you for the translation. It sounds like a reversal of bad policy is unlikely. A major recession in Europe threatens the global economy.

America will not change its president for over two years, if then. I fear that most of us will suffer for this folly. Take care.

Fran
Reply to  JiminNEF
September 12, 2022 12:27 pm

Why does everyone keep calling the coming catastrophy a “recession”? Seems economies all over are heading for DEPRESSION>

Reply to  Fran
September 12, 2022 1:31 pm

Is there an official definition of depression that they can change?

September 12, 2022 3:10 am

Comment from the NoTricksZone website:
“European countries are on track to reach a gas storage filling target by the start of this winter, but the cost of replenishing stocks will be over 50 billion euros ($51 billion), 10 times more than the historical average of filling up tanks for winter.”

ozspeaksup
September 12, 2022 3:51 am

so close to net zero and theyre upset?
no pleasing some people

Lark
Reply to  ozspeaksup
September 12, 2022 6:29 pm

Or they feel they don’t have enough power yet, so they’re pretending to deplore what they’ve accomplished so far until it results in that power.

observa
September 12, 2022 4:19 am

There’s only one thing that can save us all from the damning evidence of the tree rings and that’s marxism and the wisdom of the ancient elder marxists-

Kohler has spent more than three decades studying prehistoric Puebloan civilizations in the south-west, and knows what the stress of a megadrought can do to a community…..

But what has puzzled Kohler is evidence from his archaeological research that shows not every prolonged drought led to the demise of a Puebloan society. He says it was only the socially polarized communities that appeared to collapse during a climate crisis. “What I think happened is that some people in these villages had more wealth, or maize production, than others,” explains Kohler. Over time, tensions built between the haves and the have nots. “If there were pre-existing social divisions during a climatic downturn, then you had the potential for violence and village life was thrown into chaos.”
Kohler notes that when he found evidence of village members living at the same social level, it appeared they were able to survive a similarly challenging drought by “pulling together and making things work”.

Megadrought in the American south-west: a climate disaster unseen in 1,200 years (msn.com)

Reply to  observa
September 12, 2022 5:48 am

There could not possibly have been a climate disaster 1,200 years ago because there was no widespread use of fossil fuels at that time. Also good to know that Marxism works beautifully across all time intervals. (/sarc)

Fenlander
Reply to  Frank from NoVA
September 12, 2022 6:48 am

Marxism works everywhere and at all times except when you’re living through it.

Reply to  Frank from NoVA
September 12, 2022 9:58 am

A couple of ICE powered water pumps and a few miles of pipeline would have solved their water transfer issues.

observa
September 12, 2022 5:22 am

VAG getting nervous with the great transition-
Soaring energy costs could threaten future of electric cars, experts warn (msn.com)
while Toyota keep plugging away with hybrid tech and order books stretching to a couple of years for some models.

Dave Andrews
Reply to  observa
September 12, 2022 8:13 am

‘Toyota Warns We’re Nowhere Near Ready To Jettison Gas Powered Vehicles’

https://climatechangedispatch.com/toyota-warns-were-nowhere-near-ready-to-jettison-gas-powered-vehicles/

observa
Reply to  Dave Andrews
September 12, 2022 8:45 am

Yes they’re not alone shaking their heads at the numpties-
Hyundai Keeping ICEs Alive As EV Infrastructure Is Not Ready: Report (msn.com)
and Stellantis take the same view. The latest lab battery breakthrough that’s gunna solve all the problems dirt cheap regularly competes with the climate crisis loudspeaker it seems.

Meanwhile Elon keeps making a motzah capturing the global well to do virtue signallers plus genuine rev heads and Autopilot tech freaks. Can’t see any of them being remotely interested in Chinese Ora Good Cats and the like gobbling up the rest of the world’s lithium battery resources.

D. J. Hawkins
September 12, 2022 5:32 am

If politicians do not take countermeasures here, Germany will fall into a severe and long-lasting recession, with mass unemployment and a massive loss of prosperity.

Gee, does anyone remember what happened the last time Germany faced these conditions? Didn’t work out well for them, or the rest of Europe. Wasn’t a fun time for Russia, either.

Felix
Reply to  D. J. Hawkins
September 12, 2022 9:22 am

Worked out jessss fine for Stalin though.

John the Econ
September 12, 2022 6:44 am

The part of “The Green New Deal” that wasn’t in the glossy brochure.

markl
September 12, 2022 7:44 am

The Marxists love it when a plan comes together.

September 12, 2022 7:48 am

The above is, indeed, just the tip of the iceberg.

History has shown, time and again, that when a nation’s economy turns bad there is a “roundup” of the suspects that can be blamed for such.

Unfortunately, recent immigrants—especially financially-poor immigrants—are often a focus of blame, with horrific consequences for them in some cases.

Germany has taken up a large percentage of immigrants in the last decade.

I hope my fears do not come to pass . . . but I fear nonetheless.

Reply to  Gordon A. Dressler
September 12, 2022 3:28 pm

They won’t have to look far, or to find them.

There’s video of them giggling like little girls at the Trump speech.

MarkW
September 12, 2022 8:04 am

Collapsing the private sector always has been one of their goals.

ResourceGuy
September 12, 2022 9:26 am

By design no less….

Delivery trucks are driving billions of miles completely empty (cnbc.com)

Europe’s Latest Carbon Fiasco – WSJ
Europe’s Latest Carbon FiascoIts emissions-trading system raises energy costs for no reason.By The Editorial Board
Like prices for fossil fuels, CO2-emissions permits in the European Union’s emissions-trading system (ETS) have skyrocketed in price. A certificate to emit one metric ton of CO2 now costs about €80 and last month nearly hit €100, up from €25 in late 2019. The rising emissions price translates into higher costs for electricity consumers, as well as a squeeze for industries already scrambling to absorb sky-high fuel prices.
Europe has operated the ETS since 2005. Mandarins issue a set number of permits each year, and then market participants can trade the permits so heavier emitters can buy the certificates they need from those who have reduced emissions. If demand exceeds supply, a rising permit cost is supposed to encourage green investments to reduce emissions.
The system wasn’t designed with a crisis such as this year’s in mind, however. One factor driving up permit costs is a shift in the fuel mix driven by political supply constraints rather than the kind of market incentive the ETS is supposed to change.

CD in Wisconsin
September 12, 2022 10:24 am

“If politicians do not take countermeasures here, Germany will fall into a severe and long-lasting recession, with mass unemployment and a massive loss of prosperity.”

*************

Does anyone at all in Germany or Europe realize that govt is the cause of their energy and economic woes? Foolish lack of energy self-sufficiency and transitioning away from base load power sources to intermittent and low-density power sources will do this.

When a doctor pushes you down a flight of stairs, are you going to let him be the one who sets your broken leg?

Kevin R.
September 12, 2022 10:33 am

Jennifer Granholm thinks this is going to lead to world peace.

MarkW
Reply to  Kevin R.
September 12, 2022 3:07 pm

More likely it will lead to the world in pieces.

September 12, 2022 12:21 pm

Another industry sector facing extreme hardship is the bakery industry, which relies heavily of affordable energy.”

The bakery industry has not yet seen seriously increased costs for raw materials.
As they cease use of fertilizer, increased fuel costs to harvest and process wheat, flour costs will similarly go through the roof.

Then there are the industries where LNG serves as the raw feedstock for producing plastics and tires. Increased production costs due to high LNG prices will be dwarfed by the costs for manufacturing plastics and tires.

Watch Germany’s politicians decide to purchase from China and then resell as German products.
I was looking at Rowenta products last week. The “where manufactured” label states “designed in Germany, manufactured in China”.

“Germany will fall into a severe and long-lasting recession, with mass unemployment and a massive loss of prosperity.”

With many German companies already filing for insolvency, Germany is already in a Recession if not Depression.

Dave Andrews
Reply to  ATheoK
September 13, 2022 6:31 am

Industrial demand for electricity has fallen 20% in the UK since 2000. Some is due to improved usage but most to outsourcing to China.

Bob
September 12, 2022 6:37 pm

I have no words. How can people be so stupid?

Nexus321
September 12, 2022 8:37 pm

The start of an unparalleled economic disaster across Germany and Europe. Will make the Great Depression seem like a walk in the park.

September 13, 2022 8:51 pm

“Everything is Biden’s fault”, the Trumpers exclaim. Socialism is evil, the corporate shills scream.
I’d like to show you how a little socialism benefits a city in SC for decades:

Orangeburg, SC, a city of about 50K now, was too small to be bothered with when they wired SC. So, the people of Orangeburg socialized every utility except cable TV into the Department of Public Utilities…gas, water, sewer, and electricity! DPU webpage is a study in how good socialism in America can work for all.
https://www.orbgdpu.com/
Explore their offering and you’ll want ConEd heads on a plate!

Here’s electric rates for homes.
$12/meter/month plus $0.038/KWH first 500 KWH then it DROPS to $).0304/KWH after first 500 KWH!
THREE CENTS PER KWH 24/7!
They also have 3 HUGE natural gas diesel plants to power the city if the grid fails!

Compare Orangeburg’s citizen owned and controlled socialist public utilities rates with your greedy corporate utility companies….3.8 cents per kilowatt hour 24/7/365

Johannes S. Herbst
September 15, 2022 4:16 am

The crisis could be easily stopped by leavin these self-harming sactions and opening Nord Stream 2 for Gas supply. Dut our German pride and our commander-in-chief in the US won’t allow this. Once we Germans have started something we will carry it out until the Endsieg.

Bob
September 15, 2022 9:47 am

President Trump warned. Germany would be collateral damage and a total loss unless they started buying US LNG four years ago.

ron
September 15, 2022 9:50 am

Everyone should say, “Danke, Muttie!!”

Rookie
September 15, 2022 9:51 am

They all voted for the Green insanity that underlies this situation. I have no sympathy for any of them.

Maria
September 15, 2022 9:58 am

Are they still laughing?

Bob
September 15, 2022 10:03 am

When you have third world schools that teach man made climate change then you soon have third world poverty like Germany.

Nobodi
September 15, 2022 10:49 am

Hope I can buy a new Mercedes soon to lend them a hand…. they are getting reamed in a way almost unimaginable. Their government is as bad as our own. Biden has nearly tapped out the strategic petroleum reserve to I’m expecting fuel here to shoot back through the roof again probably in the next week or two. Can’t bother letting the oil industry actually do what it was doing 3 years ago. Anyone fully buying into current “green energy” is putting their own stupidity, ignorance and infantile emotional state on display. If you buy an EV you should be forced to keep the dead $20K battery in your back yard when it croaks.

MAR100-Nevada
September 15, 2022 11:00 am

Why would the Germans with their long, horrible history with the USSR and now Russia farm out the country’s energy supplies to the communists? Now that energy costs are out of control, this with the mass onslaught of Muslims who seem to have problems assimilating into the country is a path to poverty, recession and maybe depression! Enjoy the dance with the bear comrades.

Flashman
September 15, 2022 11:09 am

Still laughing at Herr Trump?

nuthinmuffin
September 15, 2022 11:13 am

they have the German public right where they want them, begging them for help. you never want to be in that position, because the short term gain won’t be worth the long term pain. but the majority voted for windmills and mirrors…I feel sorry for those who didn’t

Daniel J
September 15, 2022 11:15 am

Don’t call it “The Great Reset”. Call it “The Great Swap”!

It’s become obvious now to anyone who spends a little effort looking into the future, that today’s rich western countries will swap with their poor eastern counter-parts in terms of livability and quality of life. Countries like India will continue to grow to become richer, highly affordable, fully modernized societies while the likes of the U.S. and Germany are beginning their unfortunate and unneccessary descents into 3rd world countries.

The West’s purely financially motivated green-agenda and the corrupted governments who share in the enormous profits of the highly flawed renewable energy industry have already convinced their populations to accept a much poorer lifestyle as a way to “Save The Earth”. The majority of greedy western leaders and the sheeple citzentry who they have programmed with irreparably intolerant views towards common sense, logic and reasoning will work together to make The Great Swap happen. Just watch!

justsayin
September 15, 2022 11:26 am

Perhaps the populace will pool their energies and resources to rebel against the governing and elitist class who did this to them. Perhaps not.

I Identify as non Bidenary
September 15, 2022 11:33 am

Go green and soon your bank account will be lean

Jim1937
September 15, 2022 11:43 am

How’s that “Green” thing working out for you Deutschland?

Dr. Truth
September 15, 2022 12:07 pm

The problem was Angela Merkel and the Greens in Germany. Despite being some of the smartest people, the Germans continue to make some to the dumbest decisions EVER. The German people elected this woman time and again. Was there no better candidate? Shut down their nukes and then replace with natural gas from Russia. Stupidity squared.

Toldyaso
September 15, 2022 12:21 pm

if only someone had warned them about their foolish reliance on Russian oil.

Madam DeFarge
September 15, 2022 1:11 pm

These folks need to understand their suffering is for the greater good, like fixing global warming, and making elitists richer, the noblest, and actually the only cause of your pain.

Duties
September 15, 2022 1:41 pm

Wait until winter and usage increases. Can you say depression?

Lance H
September 15, 2022 2:55 pm

Does anyone remember the German delegation at the UN a few years ago, smirking and snickering as Trump told them that this would be the result of their energy policies?

Pepperidge Farm remembers. The Germans sure aren’t laughing now.

Royal
Reply to  Lance H
September 16, 2022 11:35 am

Spot on my friend!

CommonCents
September 15, 2022 7:47 pm

Perhaps E.U. governments should not have been so eager to ‘sanction’ a country (Russia) who was fighting Azov NAZIS in eastern Ukraine? i.e. Biden and NATO were the provocateurs.