Miracle saved EU grid during gas crisis
Against all odds, South Eastern Europe's electricity grid was able to withstand soaring consumption during the January gas crisis between Russia and Ukraine. Collapse in any of the countries would have triggered a long-lasting regional blackout
A blackout of a much larger magnitude than the November 2006 power failure in Germany, which plunged millions of people into darkness in several European countries, was narrowly avoided in January 2009 in South Eastern Europe due to the Ukriane- Russia gas dispute, according toEurActiv magazine.
On 31 December 2008, Russia stopped supplying gas to Ukraine over a payment dispute. Russia said Ukraine was stealing natural gas destined for Europe for its own needs. Ukraine denied the charges, but said it needed "technical gas" to pump fuel through the pipeline system. On 6 January, supplies to Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia were completely halted. It also emerged that several countries, including Bulgaria, did not have enough reserves to make up for a supply cut.
But at a later stage, the conflict left Europe with no supply of Ukrainian gas at all. At this point, the EU agreed to send observers to monitor the supply of gas earmarked for Europe. At a summit in Moscow on 17 January, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Timoshenko struck a deal, saying the crisis was over. The EU reacted cautiously. On 20 January, supplies to Europe began to flow again. European Commission President José Manuel Barroso welcomed the resumption of deliveries, after a two-week standoff that left millions of East Europeans without heating in the middle of winter. But he also warned that long-term lessons should be drawn from the crisis.
Fortunately, electricity systems managed to cope with the situation, said a European Commission expert, who preferred not to be named. He said the risk was greatest during two very cold days at the beginning of the crisis, before district heating systems in some of the affected countries had been switched from gas to petrol.
