An explosion at an Austrian gas import hub is adding to European supply woes after a North Sea pipeline shutdown, causing energy prices to soar on markets across the continent and Italy to declare a state of emergency.
Italy’s government announced on Tuesday that it had declared “the emergency level [for gas] according to the Emergency Plan in force,” saying that supply to Italian consumers would however be ensured “by an increased gas supply from national subterranean reserves.”
Slovak pipeline operator Eustream also announced in an urgent market message that due to technical failure in the Austrian gas transmission system, the gas transmission at the interconnection point at Baumgarten was “temporarily limited.”
Baumgarten, situated about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northeast of Vienna, transports the equivalent of a tenth of Europe’s gas demand. It receives mainly Russian gas via Slovakia and Germany, which is then distributed to Europe via the Austrian natural gas transmission network.
Read more: Nordstream II gas pipeline in deep water
An explosion at the Baumgarten compressor station Tuesday morning injured at least 18 people and left one missing and presumed dead.
The accident followed two days of snow in London and cooler-than-normal temperatures from the Alps to Scandinavia, already causing demand for heating fuels to go up. Arne Bergvik, chief analysts at Swedish utility Jamtkraft, said it was the “worst possible time” for such an explosion because capacity was needed in preparation for the winter in Europe.
“If the weather turns colder and capacity is unavailable, it will absolutely drive up power prices,” he told Bloomberg news agency.
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