EU energy ministers to discuss winter supply as gas costs rise
Ministers are due to discuss energy security and electricity bills before winter, as wholesale gas prices briefly reach €100 per megawatt-hour.
EU energy ministers are due to discuss energy security and household costs ahead of winter as gas prices climb across Europe, Reuters reported in an article published by RTÉ on 29 October. The report did not specify when the ministers would meet.
European wholesale gas prices briefly reached €100 per megawatt-hour for the first time since December 2022, Reuters reported. France 24 also reported prices above that level as winter approached. The rise puts pressure on households and businesses even if enough fuel remains available.
What ministers will discuss
EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen told reporters Europe was in a ‘very serious situation’. He said it did not appear to face a security-of-supply problem, but warned against neglecting that risk. Affordability was equally urgent, he said: available energy would be of little use to households and businesses unable to pay for it.
EU countries will also discuss a European Commission proposal to cut electricity bills through changes to taxes and grid fees, according to Reuters. One option would tax electricity at a lower rate than natural gas. The report described the measures as proposals for discussion, with no decision by ministers reported.
The Commission began talks with European refineries on 28 October about ways to increase output, including a possible easing of some technical specifications, Reuters reported. Western powers had also agreed earlier in October to accelerate the release of more than 400 million barrels of emergency oil stocks.
Gas storage and the price rise
Reuters put European gas storage at 75% of available capacity, compared with 83% a year earlier. France 24 reported a different current figure of 72%. The two reports therefore point to a lower level than last year but do not establish a single current storage figure.
Reuters linked rising oil and gas prices to wars in Iran, Ukraine and Yemen, saying fighting had damaged refineries in the Middle East and Russia and disrupted flows through the Black Sea, Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz. It said European wholesale gas was trading at about three times its level before the Iran war. The last brief move to €100 per megawatt-hour came in December 2022, after Europe lost most of its Russian pipeline gas supply.
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Sources and context
- EU energy ministers to discuss soaring fuel pricesReuters, republished by RTÉ
- Business - EU natural gas prices top €100 for first time since 2022France 24
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.