Bloomberg: Sweden launched a backup power plant to supply energy to Poland help from neighboring countries. In this regard, Sweden has launched a backup power plant operating on fuel oil to ensure the necessary volumes of energy supplies, writes Bloomberg.
The growing demand for electricity in Poland due to the onset of cold weather led to a shortage of energy in the country, the volume of the deficit reached 1.7 thousand megawatts. At the request of a European country, Sweden has decided to launch one of its power plants in the city of Karlshamn, which is part of the reserve energy system that the country uses during the winter. At the moment, Poland and Sweden are connected by a cable with a capacity of 600 megawatts. “Even if consumption is relatively high in Sweden on Monday, we will be able to support Poland,” said Pontusa de Mare, head of the Swedish energy company Svenska Kraftnat.
On Monday, December 6, electricity prices in Poland on the Nord Pool exchange (an electricity market where you can order and pre-pay for the required amount of electricity for the next day) increased to 240.59 euros ($ 272) per megawatt-hour, which is the most a high rate since February 2021. Forecasters predict that this week the temperature in Warsaw will drop to minus 9 degrees Celsius. This can complicate the market situation. In turn, prices in the south of Sweden, where the reserve power plant is located, rose to a record 290.06 euros. A cold snap is also expected in Stockholm this week, the temperature may drop to minus 15 degrees Celsius.
Electricity suppliers in Germany, Lithuania and Ukraine have also responded to the call for help, said the representative of the Polish energy company PSE. He noted that the power shortage was caused by weak winds and stoppages in the operation of several thermal power plants due to accidents.
At the same time, Sweden had already launched a power plant in Karlshamn in September, amid record fuel prices, which led to a real energy crisis. In Europe, it began in the fall and came as a real surprise to the region. The growth of gas prices in the region reached almost two thousand dollars per thousand cubic meters. At that time, the Deputy Chairman of the European Commission (EC) Frans Timmermans said that unfavorable market conditions were the cause of the crisis. The demand for energy resources turned out to be the highest in 25 years.