Renewable energy sources allow Austria not to experience problems, despite the fact that the country has not received gas from russia's Gazprom for ten days.
Reuters reported this on November 26.
The agency recalled that a contractual dispute between russia's Gazprom and Austrian importer OMV led to the fact that in early November Austria stopped receiving gas from russia for the first time in 50 years.
Austria has not received russian gas for ten days and does not experience problems. All thanks to record volumes of electricity produced by wind power plants. Also this year, the country's hydroelectric power plants are generating a record volume of electricity over the past decade.
Austria's network of more than 3,000 hydroelectric power plants is one of the largest in Europe and forms the basis of the Austrian power system, providing more than two-thirds of the country's electricity.
According to energy think tank Ember, hydroelectric power generation in the first 10 months of 2024 rose 17% compared to the same months in 2023, the highest in a decade.
Abundant rainfall in late 2023 and early 2024 helped raise the levels of Austria’s reservoirs to multi-year highs since the start of the year.
As winter is the peak period for electricity and power consumption in Austria due to increased heating demand, replenishing hydropower will allow Austrian energy companies to reduce their use of natural gas in the near and medium term.
This will lead to a reduction in the country’s overall gas consumption, as peak gas production typically occurs in the winter, when energy companies use gas-fired generation to make up for hydropower shortages during the coldest months of the year.
Reuters stressed that if Austria manages to avoid losing gas supplies just before winter, it could be a new blow to russia, whose gas exporters are already feeling unimportant due to a sharp decline in sales in the markets of Northern Europe.
Austria's successful refusal of gas could also serve as an example for neighboring countries, which may also reduce their collective gas consumption and compensate for electricity losses by increasing imports through their already interconnected networks.
Contract dispute between Austria and russia
Russian gas supplies to Austria were stopped after Vienna threatened to confiscate some of Gazprom's gas as compensation for a USD 242 million court victory.
Austrian OMV won an arbitration case against Gazprom it initiated. The reason was irregular gas supplies from Gazprom Export via Germany and their complete cessation in 2022.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on November 19, Reuters wrote that Austria continued to receive russian gas, despite Gazprom's promise to stop supplies.
Recall, in August 2023, media reported that Ukraine allegedly warned Austria that it would not renew the contract for the transit of russian gas after 2024.
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