This month's dramatic drop, or even cutoff, in gas flows to countries across Eastern Europe — particularly in southern areas with no exposure to beefed-up Russian deliveries through Belarus or Blue Stream — has highlighted the region's continuing heavy dependence on Russia for gas and the shortage of fuel switching or other emergency alternatives. As a result, renewables, nuclear and even coal may become a higher priority for the future. But for now, the dearth of options has driven most Eastern European countries to curtail or halt gas deliveries to large industrial users and utilize to the hilt such fuel-switching capabilities as exist.
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