Week 14 Mostly Gas
Things I read...
nu.nl
euobserver
bbc
Lots of discussion about gas at the moment. The Government have a publicity campaign recommending that everyone turns down their heating thermostats...to save money and reduce the amount we pay the Russian war effort.
Our supplier sent this in an email...
the blue is gas usage for standard residences
free-standing house
two under one roof
a corner terrace house
an in-between house
a flat
Our use (only for March) was 261m3 for us and Janny's Mum - well below the standard usage of 333m3 for just one household.
Our electricity looks much worse, but that is for EVERYTHING - us, 5 apartments and the business.
I've asked them for similar information about our second gas meter - which supplies 3 apartments and the business.
Food
While not all of these imported goods end up on Dutch shelves, products from Ukraine play a large role in Dutch industry; after being processed in factories in the Netherlands, 66 percent of the imported maize and 85 percent of the crude sunflower oil are exported to countries around the world.
Purely anecdotal, but we could see for ourselves that at least one of our supermarkets had sold out of flour - they are all out sunflower oil. A "normal" shopping trip is also noticably dearer. If Hello Fresh don't put their prices up, it will be even better value than before - we can usually get 3 (smaller but adequate) meals out of the provisions for 2 people.
To increase EU production even further, French minister for agriculture Julien Denormandie said the EU needed to have "production targets" to boost agricultural output and make sure everyone is fed.
"Russia is using grain as a strategic instrument to cause harm," he said, evoking the Treaty of Rome, one of the EU's founding documents, which obliges members to ensure stable food supply for its citizens. "We need to reduce our dependency, and for that, we need to define how much we need," he said.
Gas
If the gas supply isn’t topped up in the next few months, the Netherlands could face a lack of gas next winter, experts fear. Both on a national and European level, countries have pledged that gas storage must be up to at least 80% of its capacity this summer. The Bergermeer storage location has capacity for over four billion cubic metres of high calorie gas, or about 10% of Dutch annual needs. Now the commercially run storage depot, 40% owned by the Dutch government and 60% by Abu Dhabi energy company Taqa, has become the subject of complicated negotiations, the paper said. The deal with Gazprom, which runs until 2045, cannot simply be broken but main shareholder Taqa could offer the space to other providers if it invokes a ‘use it or lose it’ clause. (This because Gazprom are refusing to fill it).
...and sorting out the seeds...
We have 9 kids this weekend - 8 of them sleeping. Janny had to work as we were one down...so I had to cook! But some of our kids have grown (they do that) and can now help in the kitchen. It was fun to be back at it again, as I haven't had to do it for a couple of years.
The smaller kids were inside doing games by the warmth of the fire.
Ben is back in Amsterdam. It's a relief to have him back even though it might be a while before we see him.
The EU is paying Russia about €800m each day for the supply of fossil fuels, according to centre-right MEP Siegfried Muresan who said a total embargo was necessary to stop financing the war in Ukraine.
During a plenary debate on Wednesday, the EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell also said Europe has paid about €35bn to Russia for energy supplies since the start of the war, compared to the €1bn the bloc had given to Ukraine to arm itself.
During a plenary debate on Wednesday, the EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell also said Europe has paid about €35bn to Russia for energy supplies since the start of the war, compared to the €1bn the bloc had given to Ukraine to arm itself.
Gas Storage
A gas reservoir in Bergen could be nationalised to secure gas provision for next winter because of a conflict with Gazprom, the Volkskrant reported on Friday.
This is the largest gas storage facility in Europe...
It has been horrible weather for a couple of weeks now. Snow, ice, rain, wind... an enterprising Ice Skating Club put a thin layer of water in their patch and were able to skate perfectly well - the TV News said that "not in living memory have we been able to skate in April".
"April doet wat het wil" . They pronounce April as "Ah - prill" so it rhymes with wil - Loose translation "April does whatever it wants to".
I could still manage my walking, but it has been mostly indoor jobs - including the never-ending paperwork!
The Exposure Box - for screen printing...
Tjeerd kept himself busy - rearranging the pictures...
...and sorting out the seeds...
During the day, we did skelter maintenance, made some kindling and dodged the intermittent downpours...
Janny gets her own exercise whilst marshalling the troops...
Ben is back in Amsterdam. It's a relief to have him back even though it might be a while before we see him.
Next week brings a long weekend for Easter and (they say) better weather... I sometimes wonder if they just say that in order to help people get through the Now with the promise of better to come...
In any case, I expect it to be a busy weekend on the water as many will take the chance with a long weekend...including us!!
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