Peak oil getting a tighter hold on supplies

Winter clamped a death grip on Russia last week, causing many deaths among people stranded on the icy streets. The temperature hit 31 degrees Celsius, the coldest on record since 1927.

As the mercury plunged and electricity use hit record highs, the government struggled to furnish enough energy to keep homes warm and factories humming and at the same time, maintaining exports of natural gas.
Like the U.S. in the immediate post-Katrina period, Fuel and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said Russia was considering releasing part of its strategic fuel reserve and Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said the government was aiding OAO Gazprom, the state-controlled gas monopoly, to meet its obligations.

AP reported seven people died of exposure in Moscow in the course of a four-day cold snap in which temperatures hit 24 below zero Fahrenheit. According to a Moscow ambulance service official, at least 31 people have died in European Russia since Siberian cold swept into the capital late Jan. 16.

Rock River Times