Dutch lift coal curbs as Russian gas supplies drop

• The Netherlands says it will lift all restrictions on coal-fired power plants to compensate for a drop in Russian gas supplies.
• Russia halted gas supplies to the Netherlands after Dutch energy firm GasTerra refused to pay in rubles following the Ukraine crisis.
• The Dutch government also issued an “urgent appeal” to businesses and companies to save as much energy as possible.

The Netherlands announced that it will lift all restrictions on coal-fired power plants to compensate for a drop in Russian gas supplies, a day after neighboring Germany did the same.

Even though there were no shortages, the Dutch government declared the first stage of a gas crisis and urged people to consume less, according to climate and energy minister Rob Jetten.

“The cabinet has decided to immediately withdraw the restriction on production for coal-fired power stations from 2002 to 2024,” Jetten told a news conference in The Hague.

“This means that coal-fired power stations can run at full capacity again instead of the maximum of 35 percent.”

Read More: Germany resorts to coal amid Russia gas supply cuts

Russian producer Gazprom said in May that it had halted gas supplies to the Netherlands after Dutch energy firm GasTerra refused to pay in rubles following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“I want to emphasize that at the moment there’s no acute gas shortage. However, more countries are now being squeezed (by Russia). That worries us,” Jetten said.

“Because of these concerns, today I announce the first level of a gas crisis: the early warning,” he said, adding that the aim was to prepare the Netherlands for winter when gas consumption is higher.

Read More: Russia gas squeeze threatens Europe’s stockpiling plans

“We are not at level three (the highest), but at the moment the risk of not doing anything is too big.”

The Dutch minister said his country had “prepared this decision with our European colleagues over the past few days”.

The Dutch government also issued a “urgent appeal” to businesses and companies to save as much energy as possible, even in the summer.