Energy inflation has increased in every major economy , particularly Europe , and has been responsible for over half of the increase in Consumer Price Index ( CPI ) inflation in advanced nations . As a result , it doesn ’ t matter if you are running a business or a household , no one is immune to the impact of rising energy prices . Matthew Thompson , Managing Director , Europe , Airsys , tells us what we can expect if high energy prices persist and how cooling technology can be the solution for data centre and telecoms organisations to circumvent high inflation and increasing energy costs .

ll who live on this little blue dot we call Earth are currently

and combined with geopolitical tensions , never in such a way have energy prices been under the global spotlight . Whether you are running a business or a household , no one is immune to the impact of rising energy prices . A key driver of the surge in inflation across advanced economies and the associated ‘ cost of living crisis ’ not seen since the 1970s , has been the huge jump in energy prices . Energy inflation has increased in every major economy , with Europe being particularly affected . Energy alone has been responsible for over half of the increase in Consumer Price Index ( CPI ) inflation in advanced economies .

In the spring of 2020 , as COVID-19 spread from China around the world , resulting in countries going into lockdown , the price of crude oil crashed due to the lack of demand . Oil producers were paying people to take oil off their hands , as they didn ’ t have enough space to store it all . After this , OPEC + which is made up of 26 oil-producing countries , including Russia , who together produce around 40 % of the world ’ s crude oil , agreed to slash production by 10 million barrels a day to help drive the price back up . However , some feel these cuts were too deep and since the start of the Ukraine conflict , the price of crude oil soared to well over US $ 100 a barrel

because of panic on the markets . OPEC + are now increasing the supply of crude oil at a slow rate , but this does not take into account the effects of the war in Ukraine .

While liquified natural gas ( LNG ) can be shipped , similar to oil , most gas is transported through fixed pipelines . This means that prices can differ considerably between regions depending on local demand and supply conditions . Low stocks , a tendency for governments to source short-term contracts and the war in Ukraine leading to threatened European gas supplies have added a considerable premium to market prices , resulting in a gas price rise of over 300 % since last year . Gas is predominantly used to heat homes across Europe but is also used for electricity generation . Germany is particularly reliant on gas to keep its citizens warm and power its factories to keep its economy functioning .

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