Over 30 countries are in energy crisis? Britain’s oil shortage, Brazil’s power grid collapsed, and India’s situation is even worse!

As the second wave of the epidemic was gradually brought under control, an unprecedented energy crisis came unexpectedly during the critical period when the Indian economy began to recover.

At present, the major thermal power plants in India are already facing the dilemma of no coal available. Of the country’s 135 coal-fired power plants, 112 have less than a week's worth of inventory, more than 70 have less than three days, and 16 have even run out of supply.

Indian Electricity Minister Singh said: "I don't know whether the situation will ease in the next 5 to 6 months. Although demand usually slows as the weather turns cold in mid-October, the situation will be very unstable."

The energy crisis born in Europe continues to deepen, and in today's globalization, this crisis is sweeping the world. Including the 27 countries of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Brazil and India, more than 30 countries in the world are currently affected by the energy crisis. Among them, the British gasoline was looted, the Brazilian power grid collapsed, and the Indian power industry also ushered in a "perfect storm".

Affected by the energy crisis in Europe, natural gas has recently become one of the "kings" of global commodity prices. Market data shows that by the end of August this year, natural gas prices in Europe have skyrocketed 10 times in 14 months. In addition, Asia has also skyrocketed six times in the past year, and even the United States, one of the largest natural gas exporters, has seen natural gas futures prices doubled year-on-year.

With the spread of the energy crisis, in addition to natural gas, the prices of oil, coal and other energy sources are also soaring. Foreign media analysis believes that the crisis has highlighted the challenge of Europe's shift from traditional petrochemical energy to renewable energy. It is worth mentioning that after Brexit, Britain’s situation in this crisis may be even more severe than other European countries.

Due to the soaring price of natural gas, British energy companies have been hit hard. The country has also been robbed of gasoline due to the "energy shortage". This has now brought knock-on effects to the country's food industry and supply chain. If this problem cannot be resolved as soon as possible, then the country's economy is likely to usher in more serious problems.

After the price of natural gas soared, people began to turn their attention to coal and oil. However, Trafigura, a global commodity trading company, believes that the current supply of oil cannot keep up with the fast-moving pace of demand, and it is expected that oil prices will continue to rise in the future. On Tuesday (October 5), the market showed that U.S. oil prices had risen to a seven-year high.

Trafigura oil trading co-director believes that it is difficult for European natural gas prices to fall this winter, and if winter temperatures are lower than before, the global energy gap may continue to expand. It is worth noting that this energy crisis that originatedin Europe has now begun to spread to other emerging market economies.

Foreign media reported that Brazil was also unfortunately "in the hands". It is reported that due to severe drought, Brazil's hydroelectric power generation system and collapse, if the country does not increase the intensity of electricity imports from Uruguay, Argentina and other countries, then the country may be forced to start restricting power supply in the next step.

It is reported that, as the largest economy in South America, Brazil had previously relied on hydropower for 60% of its electricity. However, due to the abnormal weather this year, severe drought caused the water level of the reservoir to drop, and hydroelectric power generation is no longer stable. The report pointed out that in order to alleviate the problem of grid collapse, Brazil has started natural gas generators, which will inevitably lead to an increase in natural gas prices.

In addition to Brazil, India, which is also one of the "BRIC countries", is not optimistic about the current situation. According to reports, India is facing a power crisis different from Brazil. According to Indian official data, as of September 29, 16 of the country’s 135 coal-fired power plants had "returned to zero" coal stocks. In addition, more than 80% of the power plants had coal stocks that could not last for a week; more than half of the stocks were less than 3 days. 

The reason for this situation is that the country's coal production temporarily cannot keep up with the sharply soaring demand, and the price of imported coal is too high for Indian companies to bear, which has led to a general shortage of coal in power companies. Therefore, Nomura Securities India economist Aurodeep Nandi said that the Indian power industry is facing a "perfect storm."