Russia cutting off gaa supplies.. How worried should Europeans be?

[Ewetoo]

Russia switched off the gas to Germany on Wednesday, they said it was for maintenance & for 2 days only . Russia announced this morning due to more maintenance needed they won't be switching it on as planned & gave no date for it to be switched on... I find this very scary & the winter is already predicted to be bitterly cold (can't find link to weather prediction)

@yanxy so true, care homes, creches, the poor elderly who suffered so much with covid are going to be victims again... Schools rely on technology so much now... Many private schools are in extremely old (, posh, rickety) buildings already expensive to heat, the cost will be passed onto parents direct.. Hairdressers, cafes, restaurants & hotels can't keep hiking their prices, people just can't afford to pay & they'll need to close or else seriously relook at their opening hours...

@Ewetoo there was a school on the radio whose gas bill has gone from 200k to nearly 800k. we will all be impacted by that regardless if you can afford your own bill.

Absolutely, that's such a sobering figure.. All schools are going to be badly affected..

I'm worried. Really worried.

I'm a farmer producing something that most of you put in your shopping basket week on week.

Our feed costs have already doubled. Our labour costs will have to go up by 10%. Our electricity has just gone up by 60% (and for a bill that's already in the 10's of thousands). And that electric price rise was before putin said he wouldn't turn the gas back on.

completely agree with others - we are at
war with Russia and we need to be having emergency government to ensure we make it through.

One thing that worries me about electric blackouts is how would we be affected trying to buy things either in store or online - how can we pay if people mostly use their card and systems/electric are down? We could get cash out from the ATM but would there be enough physical cash to go round but even then, most shops use electronic tills. Will blackouts only happen to certain businesses and homes?

Am I worrying unnecessarily? I hope I am.

@Haahaha a Wooly hat in September I think you need to see a GP. We aren't far south of the border with Scotland so not exactly in the warm south. I'm in the garden in shorts and shirt having just started the pizza oven! It drizzled earlier but it's still 17 outside, inside is around 20 with no heating.

Smart meters for gas rationing are a great idea and should be mandatory. Then everyone could have access to a basic amount then generate the excess they want themselves.

Our hot tub is currently off to be cleaned (this afternoons job) we turned it off two days ago it only dropped 10 degrees so can't be getting that cold over night.

Passive homes standard used to be something for grand designs not your suburban home so hopefully this is a good way to get people thinking about it.

I don't find wind farms ugly so don't really object to them anywhere that is suitable.

For those that would rather let Putin have Ukraine so we can keep the cheap gas flowing, is him taking Germany okay? What about Poland or Italy?

Neighbours panels are apparently doing 3kw currently so even on an overcast autumn day that's a significant savings

Indeed many will suffer extreme hardship or worse if it is a cold winter.
Maybe next time a govt (doesn’t matter which one) proposes a nuclear power plant rebuild or that we use fracking or that a wind / solar farm is built on a field near you … maybe people will think a little more carefully rather than objecting to everything and expecting a miraculous no down sides at all cheap energy source.
mmmm … much easier to blame the govt

For those that would rather let Putin have Ukraine so we can keep the cheap gas flowing, is him taking Germany okay? What about Poland or Italy?
Ukraine was formerly part of the Soviet Union. So “taking it back” is different to invading a European country like Italy. I’d be quite happy for Russia to have its Soviet countries back and leave us alone.

MunchMunch
There won’t be no electricity but there may be less and then fit your scenario an unheard of thing will happen … people will not be able to buy what they want the instant they want it. They may have to wait just a bit.

There's always a post like that on these threads.

This is a particularly stupid and thoughtless 'money saving' example for the poorest in society:

I shower at my gym and my last months bill for gas and electric was £38.46.
👏🏻👏🏻

Fit = for

I can't remember whether the 1970s blackouts were planned or not, but I certainly read by candlelight, near the coal fire in the those days, until the electricity came back on.
Rationing everyone gets more than one message over.

Do some sick people rely on a constant source of energy to power something which they use at home? Would that be a problem to the 'no electricity from 7 until 10' sort of plan?

"...it's soviet countries back"???

Don't be silly

It was obvious in February that he had us over a barrel! Why is it taking people this long to cop on to that fact?

Its Soviet Countries back.... So long as he leaves us alone.

The most stupid and entitled statement I've ever read.

Christ almighty, next you will be telling people to get on their bike!

Some people can't afford to be members of a gym. Some people weren't even thinking of having an expensive holiday because they are already short of money.
These are the people to be worried about.

Many of us have a big cushion and can weather these price rises. The problem is that many cannot, and it is an absolute injustice that energy companies can profit at this misery.

Regardless of whether or not we as a country are in the west, regardless of whether or not we were a colonial power or whatever mad theory you are trying to espouse, there is something to be really worried about here, and in terms of social justice, it shouldn't go unchecked.

We should urge our government to intervene in a way that isn't just giving - insufficient - cost of living payments to people of benefits. And we should be desperately prioritising more sustainable ways of producing energy.

Did anyone listen to the The Big Green Money Show? The CEO of Octopus spoke a lot of sense.
Would love to live near the wind turbines and get cheaper electric.
I already live a couple of miles of at least 10

For me personally I'm not worried at all. I'm young, fit and relatively healthy. I have lived through far worse and could manage quite easily without utilities for quite some time.

I am worried about those in more precarious positions. The elderly, very young children, disabled and those who don't have any cash buffer will struggle. I don't think there is much that the government can do to help either.

If you're young, fit and healthy, how or when did you live through far worse?

This.

We are at war but most people don't or don't want to accept this.

We sanctioned Russia and learned that it was going to hit us far worse. Putin doesn't give a shit. People are only now learning that our sanctions against Russia are going to backfire.
Either we take him out or give him Ukraine.

Has he more staying power? 100% yes. He's essentially a dictator of millions. The 'West' is made up of the US and every country in Europe. They're all under different leaders, different political styles, different ethics, different values.

In the 80's, we had a cold war with Russia.

2023 we're going to have a freezing war lol.

Their retaliation to the sanctions have not hit us harder than they have themselves. Ukraine shouldn't be ours to give, that's a really selfish view.

Ah no. That's Putin. We are not at war at all. 😎

Have we protected them? Have we fuck.
Russians aren't at war. Putin is.