Pressure is mounting for joint action beyond the voluntary 15% consumption cut agreed in July, and the EU will hold an emergency summit on September 9 to discuss measures including a bloc-wide price cap. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this week that the bloc was working on “an urgent intervention and a structural reform of [Europe’s] electricity market’, the limitations of which are harshly revealed. Options include an emergency price cap across the bloc and – more fundamentally – decoupling electricity and gas prices, a move backed by many member states and adopted as an “Iberian exception” this summer by Spain and Portugal with the goal of reducing electricity bills. Under the current EU-wide mechanism, electricity prices are linked to the price of the most expensive fuel used to generate electricity, which is currently natural gas – the price of which has risen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, pushing also skyrocketing electricity prices. Encouragingly, the continent’s natural gas storage tanks, which will be critical to see them through the winter, have reached the Commission’s 80% capacity target two months ahead of schedule, and Spain, Italy, Germany and France in have exceeded. However, the coming months look likely to be difficult for millions across the continent. Here’s a look at the scale of the energy crisis in many European countries and – with Britain’s government accused of inaction – what capitals are doing about it. France froze gas prices at October 2021 levels and limited electricity price increases to at least 4% until the end of the year and distributed 100 euros to low- and middle-income households to help pay energy bills. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said any price rises next year would be “capped”, with no cover costs, while government spokesman Olivier Véran said France “will not allow what is happening in the UK to happen here”. Without government energy intervention – known as le bouclier tarifaire, or tariff shield, part of a €65bn package to tackle the cost of living crisis – French gas bills would have risen by 60% and electricity bills by 45%, said Le Maire. . France, traditionally a net exporter of electricity, is currently a net importer because several of the nuclear reactors that generate about 70% of its electricity – making it far less dependent on Russian gas – are shut down for maintenance and facing corrosion problems . The country has launched a “sobriety program” aimed at reducing energy consumption by 10%, including setting temperatures in public buildings higher in summer and lower in winter. The private sector and households are expected to make similar efforts. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has warned companies face energy cuts if they do not cut consumption, while President Emmanuel Macron said the French would have to make sacrifices during a “difficult” winter as a new era of climate change instability and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine meant the end of abundant energy, water and new products. Wind turbines in Marsberg, Germany. Photo: Martin Meissner/AP Natural gas, used mainly for heating private homes and for the electricity industry, makes up a quarter of Germany’s total energy mix, and at the start of the war 55% came from Russia. By this month, however, the figure had fallen to 9.5%. Olaf Scholz’s government has embarked on an ambitious program to wean itself off Russian gas entirely, seeking to build floating LNG import terminals and pledging to massively expand onshore wind farms. Some coal plants that were due to close have been reactivated, although the government has yet to say what it will do about the last three remaining nuclear plants, which are due to close at the end of the year. Several energy-saving measures have been introduced, including limiting temperatures in public buildings to 19C from September and switching off heating in public areas such as corridors, with the private sector encouraged to follow suit. Most heating and electricity bills rise by around 10% year-on-year, but the real shock will come in 2023: Berlin’s tenants’ association expects landlords to demand additional retroactive energy payments equivalent to two months’ rent. Faced with “at least a tripling” of monthly consumer bills next year, the government is paying all regular workers a one-off €300 rebate in September. Students and welfare recipients have already received double their usual lump sum payment to help heat private homes. Italy is one of the most vulnerable countries in Europe, with 40% of its natural gas imports dependent on Russia. Without government intervention, up to 120,000 businesses are at risk of closing in the next nine months, industry associations have said. Electricity bills have already risen sharply and energy regulator Arera has warned of a 100% year-on-year increase by 1 October. Restaurant owners have posted bills totaling thousands of euros on social media or display them in their storefronts. As political parties call for swift action, the government said it is considering more options to help households and businesses. But the crisis has been exacerbated by political instability since Mario Draghi resigned as prime minister in July. Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League, who is seen among the winners of the September 25 election, has said that if prices do not fall, the next government “will have to take care of a share of electricity and gas, starting with businesses . “. Although Draghi signed a series of bilateral deals with Algeria, Africa’s biggest natural gas exporter, to secure alternative supplies, Salvini said that without intervention there was “an absolutely certain risk of deciding who will heat their homes and facilities and who doesn’t. who will turn on the lights and who won’t.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The country is also working on an emergency energy-saving plan under which home heaters will be reduced by 2 degrees Celsius in winter, cities will reduce street lighting by 40%, public offices will close early and shops will close until at 19:00 and the restaurants at 23:00. Spain is not as dependent on Russian gas as some EU states – Russia provided 10% of its gas imports this year – but the Socialist-led coalition government recently introduced a series of energy-saving measures aimed at reducing natural gas by 7-8%. use. Last week, parliament approved a decree limiting air conditioning and heating temperatures in public and large commercial buildings such as shopping malls, cinemas, train stations and airports. Storefront lights must be turned off after 10 p.m. On Thursday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his government would cut the VAT on natural gas from 21% to 5% from October until the end of the year to help Spanish households with their energy bills. In June, the EU approved an 8.4 billion euro plan by Spain and Portugal to lower wholesale electricity prices on the Iberian market by capping the price of natural gas used to generate electricity. Acting as a direct subsidy to power producers, it will save households 15% to 20% on their energy bills, the government says. Spain’s Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said Spain was much better prepared for winter than some countries, but people could do more. “Should I tell families to take cold showers like the German government did?” he told El Mundo. “That would never have occurred to me. But I can encourage people to get back into habits like turning off the lights when they’re not needed or not turning up the heat so high.” Smoke and steam billow from Belchatow Power Station, Europe’s largest coal-fired power station, in Poland. Photo: Kacper Pempel/Reuters Different countries face very different problems. Poland, a major European producer of low-grade coal, which it exports and uses to fuel the power plants that generate about 70 percent of its electricity, embargoed Russian coal in April. That mattered because the country also relies heavily on coal for domestic heating, which requires higher quality, almost half of which – about 5 million tonnes – Poland used to import mainly from Russia. With this source closed, prices have tripled. In June, the government tried to guarantee supplies by ordering state-owned companies to buy an extra 4.5 million tonnes for domestic consumption, raised quality standards for residential fuel and tried unsuccessfully to curb prices. This month it announced a one-off payment of 3,000 zlotys (around €630 or £540) for every household that burns coal, with smaller subsidies for different types of heating fuel such as wood and LPG, a move that has been criticized as damaging the environment and not media checked. The Netherlands is the EU’s biggest gas producer and western Europe’s biggest after Norway, but has been importing up to 15% of its gas from Russia as it has curtailed production from the Groningen gas field due to earthquakes. It is offering the lowest-income households a one-off energy subsidy of €1,300, raising the minimum wage and cutting energy VAT to 9%, but has said it will dramatically increase output from the Groningen field only if Russia shuts down all natural gas. supplies in Europe. The government is doubling LNG imports and said last month that the country cut gas consumption by about 33% in the first half of the year.
title: “Tariff Shields And Lights Out How Europe Is Tackling The Energy Crisis Europe Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-06” author: “Anthony Wahlberg”
Pressure is mounting for joint action beyond the voluntary 15% consumption cut agreed in July, and the EU will hold an emergency summit on September 9 to discuss measures including a bloc-wide price cap. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this week that the bloc was working on “an urgent intervention and a structural reform of [Europe’s] electricity market’, the limitations of which are harshly revealed. Options include an emergency price cap across the bloc and – more fundamentally – decoupling electricity and gas prices, a move backed by many member states and adopted as an “Iberian exception” this summer by Spain and Portugal with the goal of reducing electricity bills. Under the current EU-wide mechanism, electricity prices are linked to the price of the most expensive fuel used to generate electricity, which is currently natural gas – the price of which has risen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, pushing also skyrocketing electricity prices. Encouragingly, the continent’s natural gas storage tanks, which will be critical to see them through the winter, have reached the Commission’s 80% capacity target two months ahead of schedule, and Spain, Italy, Germany and France in have exceeded. However, the coming months look likely to be difficult for millions across the continent. Here’s a look at the scale of the energy crisis in many European countries and – with Britain’s government accused of inaction – what capitals are doing about it. France froze gas prices at October 2021 levels and limited electricity price increases to at least 4% until the end of the year and distributed 100 euros to low- and middle-income households to help pay energy bills. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said any price rises next year would be “capped”, with no cover costs, while government spokesman Olivier Véran said France “will not allow what is happening in the UK to happen here”. Without government energy intervention – known as le bouclier tarifaire, or tariff shield, part of a €65bn package to tackle the cost of living crisis – French gas bills would have risen by 60% and electricity bills by 45%, said Le Maire. . France, traditionally a net exporter of electricity, is currently a net importer because several of the nuclear reactors that generate about 70% of its electricity – making it far less dependent on Russian gas – are shut down for maintenance and facing corrosion problems . The country has launched a “sobriety program” aimed at reducing energy consumption by 10%, including setting temperatures in public buildings higher in summer and lower in winter. The private sector and households are expected to make similar efforts. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has warned companies face energy cuts if they do not cut consumption, while President Emmanuel Macron said the French would have to make sacrifices during a “difficult” winter as a new era of climate change instability and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine meant the end of abundant energy, water and new products. Wind turbines in Marsberg, Germany. Photo: Martin Meissner/AP Natural gas, used mainly for heating private homes and for the electricity industry, makes up a quarter of Germany’s total energy mix, and at the start of the war 55% came from Russia. By this month, however, the figure had fallen to 9.5%. Olaf Scholz’s government has embarked on an ambitious program to wean itself off Russian gas entirely, seeking to build floating LNG import terminals and pledging to massively expand onshore wind farms. Some coal plants that were due to close have been reactivated, although the government has yet to say what it will do about the last three remaining nuclear plants, which are due to close at the end of the year. Several energy-saving measures have been introduced, including limiting temperatures in public buildings to 19C from September and switching off heating in public areas such as corridors, with the private sector encouraged to follow suit. Most heating and electricity bills rise by around 10% year-on-year, but the real shock will come in 2023: Berlin’s tenants’ association expects landlords to demand additional retroactive energy payments equivalent to two months’ rent. Faced with “at least a tripling” of monthly consumer bills next year, the government is paying all regular workers a one-off €300 rebate in September. Students and welfare recipients have already received double their usual lump sum payment to help heat private homes. Italy is one of the most vulnerable countries in Europe, with 40% of its natural gas imports dependent on Russia. Without government intervention, up to 120,000 businesses are at risk of closing in the next nine months, industry associations have said. Electricity bills have already risen sharply and energy regulator Arera has warned of a 100% year-on-year increase by 1 October. Restaurant owners have posted bills totaling thousands of euros on social media or display them in their storefronts. As political parties call for swift action, the government said it is considering more options to help households and businesses. But the crisis has been exacerbated by political instability since Mario Draghi resigned as prime minister in July. Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League, who is seen among the winners of the September 25 election, has said that if prices do not fall, the next government “will have to take care of a share of electricity and gas, starting with businesses . “. Although Draghi signed a series of bilateral deals with Algeria, Africa’s biggest natural gas exporter, to secure alternative supplies, Salvini said that without intervention there was “an absolutely certain risk of deciding who will heat their homes and facilities and who doesn’t. who will turn on the lights and who won’t.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The country is also working on an emergency energy-saving plan under which home heaters will be reduced by 2 degrees Celsius in winter, cities will reduce street lighting by 40%, public offices will close early and shops will close until at 19:00 and the restaurants at 23:00. Spain is not as dependent on Russian gas as some EU states – Russia provided 10% of its gas imports this year – but the Socialist-led coalition government recently introduced a series of energy-saving measures aimed at reducing natural gas by 7-8%. use. Last week, parliament approved a decree limiting air conditioning and heating temperatures in public and large commercial buildings such as shopping malls, cinemas, train stations and airports. Storefront lights must be turned off after 10 p.m. On Thursday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his government would cut the VAT on natural gas from 21% to 5% from October until the end of the year to help Spanish households with their energy bills. In June, the EU approved an 8.4 billion euro plan by Spain and Portugal to lower wholesale electricity prices on the Iberian market by capping the price of natural gas used to generate electricity. Acting as a direct subsidy to power producers, it will save households 15% to 20% on their energy bills, the government says. Spain’s Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said Spain was much better prepared for winter than some countries, but people could do more. “Should I tell families to take cold showers like the German government did?” he told El Mundo. “That would never have occurred to me. But I can encourage people to get back into habits like turning off the lights when they’re not needed or not turning up the heat so high.” Smoke and steam billow from Belchatow Power Station, Europe’s largest coal-fired power station, in Poland. Photo: Kacper Pempel/Reuters Different countries face very different problems. Poland, a major European producer of low-grade coal, which it exports and uses to fuel the power plants that generate about 70 percent of its electricity, embargoed Russian coal in April. That mattered because the country also relies heavily on coal for domestic heating, which requires higher quality, almost half of which – about 5 million tonnes – Poland used to import mainly from Russia. With this source closed, prices have tripled. In June, the government tried to guarantee supplies by ordering state-owned companies to buy an extra 4.5 million tonnes for domestic consumption, raised quality standards for residential fuel and tried unsuccessfully to curb prices. This month it announced a one-off payment of 3,000 zlotys (around €630 or £540) for every household that burns coal, with smaller subsidies for different types of heating fuel such as wood and LPG, a move that has been criticized as damaging the environment and not media checked. The Netherlands is the EU’s biggest gas producer and western Europe’s biggest after Norway, but has been importing up to 15% of its gas from Russia as it has curtailed production from the Groningen gas field due to earthquakes. It is offering the lowest-income households a one-off energy subsidy of €1,300, raising the minimum wage and cutting energy VAT to 9%, but has said it will dramatically increase output from the Groningen field only if Russia shuts down all natural gas. supplies in Europe. The government is doubling LNG imports and said last month that the country cut gas consumption by about 33% in the first half of the year.
