Brussels to have emergency response in electricity market ready in “weeks”

“We now see that we need to separate them (gas and electricity prices) as a result of suddenly rising gas prices. The second thing is that when it comes to renewable energy that is costly, we need to make it cheaper, but also to the benefit of consumers,” he said. von der Leyen at a transformation forum in Berlin on Monday. european calendar and center extraordinary meeting of energy ministers It was convened by the EU’s Czech presidency on 9 September to try to curb high prices.

complex system

While Prague hopes a draft will be on the table by then, the Community Manager has not confirmed whether the proposal will be ready by then, limiting himself to stating that they are examining “different possible models” and will submit proposals. Best suited to the situation facing the EU. “Everyone recognizes the seriousness and urgency of the situation, but these are areas where Member States have strong mandates and it is important to listen to them,” the Community Executive Spokesperson limited himself, Eric Mamer He explained that he did not give any clues and that they would investigate possibilities and make suggestions.

“We need to take into account two elements. On the one hand, the severity of the situation and the consequences for consumers and the industry. On the other hand, there is a need for a proposal that adapts to the complexity of our energy market, and especially electricity, so it is important that we take the necessary time for our proposals to respond to these two dynamics,” he said, reiterating that they will submit a proposal as soon as possible.

Until now, the European Commission and many Member States had resisted imposing a cap on the energy price or reforming the electricity market’s pricing system, as did southern countries such as Spain, Italy and Portugal. the so-called Council of Europe, which it began to argue a year ago and which, after months of deliberation, ended with the ratification of many prints in March. “Iberian exception”This has allowed Madrid and Lisbon to limit the price of gas for electricity generation and is possible due to the high presence of renewable sources in the energy mix and few interconnections with the rest of the European continent. Now, the path taken by both countries can serve as an example to other European partners. “We are facing a rapidly evolving situation” Community spokespersons admit that they signal a radical change in the situation in relation to the situation that existed last October.

Currently, this Tuesday, Von der Leyen took advantage to announce that the European Union’s underground gas deposits have already reached 80% of their capacity two months ago, during the energy security summit among the Baltic states organized by Denmark. One of the measures was planned by the EU to strengthen the situation of the Member States in the face of possible interruptions in the supply of Russian gas before the onset of winter. “We have good news. We’ve reached an average of 80% in the European Union, so basically we’ve reached the agreed amount for this year, although we know the fill will increase”, explained the President of the European Commission.

According to the latest data update published by the AGSI GIE website inventory, as of 29 August, underground storages were at 79.94% and 10 Member States were above the 80% threshold: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. All would have filled their deposits two months earlier than had been stipulated in the Twenty-Seven agreement, which set November 1 as the deadline. Below 65% or about 65% are Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Latvia. In the case of Spain, 29.6 TWh was stored according to the latest update.