Italy may cut power exports if gas supplies shrink further: minister
AFP
MILAN, Italy
Petroleumworld.com 02 09 06
Italy may, as a last resort, reduce its electricity exports in
order to economise on national gas reserves that are dwindling
dangerously, Industry Minister Claudio Scajola said on Wednesday.
"A cut in sales of energy to other countries would be a last
resort. We will consider this option over the next few days,"
he told Radio 24.
Since mid-January, Italy has struggled with shortfalls of Russian
gas imports which forced it to tap into its "top-up"
gas stocks. If the penury persists, Rome will have to start digging
into its strategic gas reserves.
Italian oil and gas giant ENI estimated that Wednesday's gas supplies
from Russia were 13.5 percent below normal. That shortfall represents
2.7 percent of Italian consumption -- one of the largest drops
in deliveries in the last three weeks.
Despite the gas shortage, Italy continues to export power produced
from imported gas, to countries where the price of electricity
is higher than on the Italian domestic market.
According to the Italian media, one of the largest purchasers
of Italian electricity is Swiss power company Atel, which then
sells it on to Germany and France.
Rome is mulling energy saving measures to cope with the Russian
supply gap, due in part to a surge in Russian domestic demand
caused by very cold weather.
It has already told certain industrial plants to switch from gas
to oil as a power source, even though the latter produces significantly
more air pollution.
The maximum temperature allowed in public, or collectively-heated
buildings has been cut from 20 to 19 degrees Centigrade and their
radiators are turned off an hour early.
AFP
02/08/06
Copyright
© 2006 AFP. All rights reserved
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