EU: energy cooperation between the bloc and Ukraine and Moldova

 Transmission System Operators for Electricity of Continental Europe agree to increase the trade capacity with the Ukraine/Moldova power system, entsoe.eu:

On 28 July, the Transmission System Operators (TSOs) of Continental Europe agreed to increase the trade capacity with Ukraine/Moldova to 250 MW which is more than double the capacity that was set in the initial phase (100 MW). The possibility of further increasing trade capacity will be assessed in September based on power system stability and security considerations.

Commercial electricity exchanges with the Ukraine/Moldova power system started on 30 June on the interconnection between Ukraine and Romania, followed by the Ukraine-Slovakia interconnection on 7 July. Electricity trading on the other interconnections (Ukraine-Hungary and Moldova-Romania) is expected to follow later.

You can read the rest of the piece under the below link:

https://www.entsoe.eu/news/2022/07/29/transmission-system-operators-for-electricity-of-continental-europe-agree-to-increase-the-trade-capacity-with-the-ukraine-moldova-power-system/

Lebanon: Karpower shuts down power supply

A Turkish company that provides electricity to Lebanon from two power barges shut down its operations on Friday over delayed payments and the threat of legal action against its vessels. The move is expected to increase outages in the crisis-hit Mediterranean country.

The company Karpowership has been threatening to shut down its power supply to Lebanon for weeks and said it took the decision on Friday because of 18 months of overdue payments in excess of $100 million. However, the decision comes after a Lebanese prosecutor last week threatened to seize the ships, pending an investigation into corruption and graft allegations. The company has called those accusations baseless.

The company provides around 370 megawatts — about a quarter of Lebanon’s supply - through two electricity barges that have been anchored off the Lebanese coast since 2013. The company’s contract expires in September.

“For 18 months, we have been exceedingly flexible with the (Lebanese) state, continually supplying power without payment or a payment plan, because the country was already facing very hard times,” the Karpowership statement said. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-lebanon-beirut-business-095e5e50b70d645f8f59da82e4bf3a8d

Lebanon: Turkish Firm Threatens to Cut Floating Power Plants

 A Turkish company threatened to switch off two floating power plants that provide about a fifth of Lebanon’s electricity, amid a dispute with authorities over corruption allegations and payments. Lebanon’s Financial Prosecutor asked for Karpowership’s vessels to be seized pending an investigation into the renewal of the power supply contracts. “We are alarmed at the actions taken by Lebanon’s Financial Prosecutor and firmly deny any violation of our contract or the law,” a Karpowership spokesperson said in a statement late Saturday.

Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/turkish-firm-threatens-to-switch-off-lebanon-s-power-boats

EU quarterly energy report: impact of Covid-19 on electricity and gas market still considerable

 The EU released the energy report for the second quarter of 2020. Here are the figures of the Covid-19 impact:

"The widespread lockdown measures across much of Europe earlier this year had an unprecedented impact on the EU energy market, causing gas and electricity consumption to fall by 10% and 11% respectively in the second quarter, according to the Commission’s quarterly reports on gas and electricity markets which have just been published. Comparison with the second quarter of 2019 also shows the deep impact across the whole of the economy – with a 14% fall in GDP. At the same time, lower consumption and rise in solar generation contributed to renewables taking a 43% share of the EU power mix in Q2 2020, a new quarterly record – and highlighting again the exceptional impact of the crisis.  

The electricity market report shows that electricity consumption dropped by 11% in the EU27 compared to Q2 2019. Wholesale power prices decreased by 30-50% and reached levels not seen in more than a decade. Fossil fuels were the main losers from this demand shock and this coincided with a surge in solar generation – to the extent that solar energy accounted for 9% of the EU27 power mix.2

(...)

The gas market report is also dominated by the direct and indirect impact of the covid pandemic. The collapse in demand linked to the suspension of so many economic activities led to a decrease in gas consumption of 10% in the EU in Q2 2020. In some Member States, gas consumption was down by 20-30% in April relative to the same period in 2019.

Demand for natural gas was subdued not only in industry, but in power generation as well, as the abundance of renewables did not favour gas, even amid steeply falling gas prices: wholesale prices fell by 50-60% in year-on-year comparison. By the end of May, the TTF spot gas price fell to record lows (3.5€/MWh), slowly rebounding in June 2020 amid easing of the Covid-19 related lockdown measures.

In the context of low demand for gas in the EU, wholesale gas prices on some hubs fell below their US peers in May, resulting in the cancellation of some LNG shipments. Retail prices for an average industrial customer fell by 11% in Q2 2020 year-on-year and household customers also enjoyed lower prices in the majority of the EU capital cities."

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/market-reports-2nd-quarter-highlight-impact-covid-lockdown-electricity-and-gas-markets-2020-oct-12_en