The skyrocketing energy prices are seriously affecting the daily life of Asians.
In Sri Lanka, people have to queue for kilometers to fill up a fuel tank. The country’s prime minister last week said the South Asian nation’s economy of 22 million people “faces total collapse” and urged people to use fuel sparingly.
Starting June 20, Sri Lanka was forced to close schools and stop non-essential activities of government agencies. The closure will last about 2 weeks.
In India and Pakistan, power outages forced schools to close, businesses shut down and people lived in suffocation without air conditioning despite extreme heat waves.
Electricity demand in India recently hit a record high, and state-owned coal company Coal India (India) announced it would import coal for the first time since 2015, amid the country’s suffering from a shortage of coal. power outages on a large scale when the weather is extremely hot.
Even in relatively affluent countries like Australia, consumers feel the pressure from higher energy bills. Wholesale electricity prices in the first quarter of 2022 increased by 141% year-on-year and households are being urged to cut back on electricity use.
Demand for fuel is skyrocketing. Illustration – Source: AP
Each of these countries faces some unique circumstances, but all are affected by the dual impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, two unforeseen events that have turned the tide on previously rational assumptions about supply chains and regional security have thrown the world economic plan into chaos.
Over the past few years, the COVID-19 pandemic has left energy demand unusually low, with global electricity consumption falling by more than 3% in Q1 2020 due to factory closures and travel restrictions. causing workers to stay at home, vehicles not being able to move and ships stuck at ports.
Now, however, as countries begin to push back against the pandemic, skyrocketing demand for fuel and unexpected competition are pushing coal, oil and gas prices to record highs.
In addition, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, the world’s third-largest oil producer and second-largest crude exporter, coupled with Western sanctions against Russia has forced many countries to scramble to find alternative fuel sources. This fact further heats up the already limited supply competition.
According to VTV News Department
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