'Tis the season

How do we know the holiday season is right around the corner? Easy, a new tradition has cropped up over the past few years by which one can set their calendar to:

Cash-strapped Ukraine may be unable to pay its gas bills in the coming winter, the chairman of Gazprom, the Russian gas monopoly has warned, raising fears of a repeat of last winter’s European gas crisis.

Alexei Miller said that while Naftogaz, the Ukrainian state gas company, had said it could meet its bills until the end of the year it was unclear what would happen in January, when Ukraine is due to hold hotly-contested presidential elections.

"The risk is that in January there will be an election and the payment for January's supply will be due on February 7," Mr Miller told academics and journalists on Saturday. When he asked Naftogaz executives what would happen, they swore and said they did not know, he said.

No need to worry though. Afterall, all those shiney new windmills that have been coming on-line will surely make up the difference in any disruption.

Right?