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“This expertise at the moment of the rising power costs is a transparent get up name… that we should always speed up the transition to scrub power, wean ourselves off the fossil gas dependency,” a senior EU official informed reporters because the European Fee unveiled a collection of measures geared toward tackling the disaster.
“Winter is coming and for a lot of electrical energy prices are bigger than they’ve been for a decade,” Power Commissioner Kadri Simson informed reporters on Wednesday.
Wholesale gasoline costs — which have surged to report highs in France, Spain, Germany and Italy — are anticipated to stay excessive via the winter. Costs are anticipated to fall within the spring, however stay greater than the typical of previous years, in keeping with the Fee. Most EU nations depend on gas-fired energy stations to satisfy electrical energy demand, and about 40% of that gasoline comes from Russia, in keeping with Eurostat.
Simson stated that the Fee’s preliminary evaluation signifies that Russia’s Gazprom has been fulfilling its long-term contracts “whereas offering little or no further provide.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed journalists on Wednesday that Russia has elevated gasoline provides to Europe to the utmost potential degree beneath current contracts, however couldn’t exceed these thresholds. “We are able to say that Russia is flawlessly fulfilling all contractual obligations,” he stated.
Measures EU states can take to assist shoppers and companies deal with hovering electrical energy prices embody emergency revenue help to households to assist them pay their power payments, state support for firms, and focused tax reductions. Member states may also quickly delay invoice funds and put in place processes to make sure that nobody is disconnected from the grid.
Inexperienced power the answer
The Fee additionally revealed a collection of long run measures the bloc ought to think about to scale back its dependence on fossil fuels and sort out power value volatility.
“Our rapid precedence is to guard Europe’s shoppers, particularly probably the most weak,” Simson stated. “Second, we need to make our power system higher ready and extra resilient, so we do not have to face an identical scenario sooner or later,” she added.
This is able to require rushing up the inexperienced power transition slightly than slowing it down, Simson stated. “We aren’t dealing with an power value surge due to our local weather coverage or as a result of renewable power is pricey. We face it as a result of the fossil gas costs are spiking,” she continued.
“The one long run treatment towards demand shocks and value volatility is a transition to a inexperienced power system.”
Simson stated she is going to suggest to EU leaders a package deal of measures to decarbonize Europe’s gasoline and hydrogen markets by 2050. Different measures to enhance power market stability might embody rising gasoline storage capability and shopping for gasoline collectively at an EU degree.
— Katharina Krebs contributed reporting.
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