Bloomberg Italy is targeting a reduction in natural gas consumption through the winter season by increasing the use of coal, turning down heating across the country, and pushing to change citizens’ habits, according to a document circulated by the ministry for ecological transition. As the country faces the prospect of paying twice as much for energy imports as it ...

  Bloomberg South Africa announced its first rolling blackouts in almost three weeks, hours after the nation’s statistics office published data that showed economy contracted in second quarter when was hit by record power outages. Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. will implement so-called stage-2 loadshedding, where it cuts 2,000 megawatts from the grid, until September 10. If the utility sticks to ...

  Bloomberg Germany’s fears that soaring power and gas prices could trigger a deeper crisis is starting to get real. Several hundred local utilities are coming under strain and need support, according to the head of Germany’s largest energy lobby group. The companies, generally owned by municipalities, supply households and small businesses directly and are a key part of the ...