Several European countries are suffering scarcity and soaring prices for a fuel of last resort: firewood.
BERLIN - Jörg Mertens knew the West's standoff with Russia had sent energy prices soaring across Europe. But his August bills left him gobsmacked.Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.
Thieves, sensing opportunity, are stealing logs from truck beds; scammers are setting up fake websites, posing as wood sellers to con desperate consumers. Wood-burning ovens and furnaces in several countries have almost completely sold out."Firewood is the new gold," said Franz Lüninghake, 62, a systems administrator in Bremen, Germany, who has a wood-burning furnace on back order. His estimated energy bill for the next year? $4,500 - up from $1,500 for the 12 months to May.
Europeans were already funding a transition to renewable energy sources through taxes and tariffs on their power bills, paying more on average than their American counterparts. Now, that gap has widened. As winter approaches, the economic pain could test the continent's resolve on sanctions to punish Russia for invading Ukraine.
Ed Trewhitt, 55, owner of Brickyard Bakery in Guisborough, England, said it won't be enough to save his business. If energy prices stay this high, he said, he'll be forced to close next year. The cost to run his bread oven has doubled over the last year to $2,300 a month. That spike comes on top of Britain's soaring inflation, which is at a 40-year high.
"They drive in with a trailer or a tractor and a loading truck and a crane, have professional equipment, saw the stuff together and drive it out," he said. "Audacity prevails." Germany, slouching toward recession, is ahead of schedule in filling up its gas reserves. But a bitterly cold winter could still cause hardship. If the government imposes rationing, officials say, they will put citizens before industry.
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