BRUSSELS - European Union energy ministers expressed support for the idea of a dynamic price cap for gas to limit price spikes, Czech Industry Minister Jozef Sikela told reporters on Tuesday after talks with the ministers.
The European Commission has not yet formally proposed such a price cap, but has asked EU countries to confirm their support for Brussels to draft such a proposal.
EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said on Tuesday after talks that it is up to EU countries to decide whether to move forward with an idea to cap the price of gas used in the power sector.
“It’s up to the member states if they will find a solution,” Ms Simson told a news conference.
The commission on Monday shared an analysis of the proposal with countries, which warned that the scheme could risk increasing Europe’s gas use.
Europe has been scrambling to tame high energy prices after Russia slashed gas supplies following its invasion of Ukraine – sending gas prices skywards and pushing European power prices to record levels in August.
But gas costs have tumbled in recent days, amid mild weather and as countries have filled storage tanks. Some EU diplomats suggested this could dampen momentum to cap energy costs, but others said a cap was still needed to guard against potential price spikes as Europe heads into winter.
The commission last week asked for countries’ approval to draft a proposal for a price limit on trades at the Title Transfer Facility Dutch gas hub, which could be triggered if prices spiked.
A few days later, EU country leaders requested “concrete decisions” from their ministers and Brussels on this idea.
Any proposal would need to be negotiated by EU countries, possibly with the aim of approving it at an emergency meeting of energy ministers in November.
Meanwhile, the commission urged EU countries and companies to donate more money and equipment to support Ukraine’s energy sector, more than a third of which has been destroyed by Russia.
“What is at stake is the protection and well-being of thousands and tens of thousands of households, vulnerable people, children and elderly before this coming winter,” Ms Simson said.
She said Ukrainian transformers, circuit breakers and power lines had been destroyed, causing outages. “It is urgent,” she told reporters. REUTERS
