The EU wants to limit spiking gas prices after 'excessive' moves this summer

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The EU is moving connected caller measures to mitigate state prices.

Donato Fasano | Getty Images News | Getty Images

LONDON — The European Union is moving connected caller measures to forestall highly precocious state prices aft "excessive" levels seen this summer, successful a determination that could person large implications for European consumers.

The European Commission, the enforcement limb of the EU, projected Tuesday mounting a bounds connected regular state trading levels. The purpose is to debar terms spikes, which tin pb to higher vigor bills for households.

The front-month state price at the Dutch TTF hub, a European benchmark for earthy state trading, reached historical levels successful precocious August, erstwhile the terms of earthy state jumped to 341 euros ($334) per megawatt hour, from astir 45 euros a twelvemonth earlier.

Prices person travel down since past arsenic EU nations person taken steps to amended their vigor supply, but they stay comparatively precocious connected an historical ground and are a large occupation for the European economy. European earthy state prices were trading astir 120 euros per megawatt hr Tuesday.

"We are successful a precocious terms planetary reality," a elder EU official, who did not privation to beryllium named owed to the discussions inactive being underway, told reporters Tuesday. The aforesaid authoritative added that the summer's "excessive" prices "had a important interaction connected the European system and European consumers."

The imaginable state trading limits are, however, meant to beryllium temporary.

A 2nd EU authoritative besides told reporters that the committee wants to bash "something meaningful, but not harmful" to the market.

Speaking earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: "We should see a terms regulation successful narration to the TTF successful a mode that continues to unafraid the proviso of state to Europe and to each Member States and that would show that the EU is not acceptable to wage immoderate terms for gas," according to Reuters.

The committee besides projected Tuesday the mounting up of a caller benchmark for trading liquified earthy state (LNG).

"The TTF is linked to pipeline state prices, but it is not close arsenic astir countries usage LNG," the 2nd authoritative said, adding that the thought is not to regenerate the existent benchmark for earthy state but alternatively creating a caller 1 that lone takes into relationship LNG.

The committee said this caller benchmark should beryllium successful spot adjacent spring, erstwhile EU nations volition beryllium focused connected bolstering their state retention levels successful clip for the winter.

EU heads of authorities are gathering successful Brussels Thursday to sermon the caller proposals.

Critics person said the 27 subordinate states are taking excessively agelong to code the vigor situation jointly. Supporters, however, reason that the EU has taken a fig of meaningful steps since Russia's penetration of Ukraine to boost its vigor security.

The EU utilized to import astir 40% of its earthy state from Russia; that fig is present astatine astir 7%.

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