High levels of gas storage, lower energy prices and new sources of fuel mean Europe is heading into a second winter with scarce Russian gas in a more comfortable position than a year ago.
After decades of relying on Russia to supply cheap gas, resuming that dependency became more unlikely than ever following the unexplained explosions a year ago today that hit the Nord Stream pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.
Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline had accounted for 15% of Europe's gas imports in 2021, according to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. A second Nord Stream 2 link was planned but never operated.