During a crisis meeting, EU ministers responsible for energy agreed on an electricity emergency plan. For example, skimming ‘accidental profits’ from energy companies and a solidarity levy for other companies that do business with fossil fuels. In addition, a gas price ceiling must be examined.
The European Commission will present a concrete legislative proposal halfway through the month. For the time being, it is important to create details and explore possibilities. One tool that the participants in the meeting agreed on is ‘accidental profit’ skimming. Excessive profits from electricity producers must be paid out to consumers and in this way relieve households.
Energy companies in the picture
Other energy producers that generate electricity cheaper (for example from wind, solar or nuclear energy) often also make more profit because they can sell their electricity at the higher price. According to the energy ministers, these revenues should be collected above a certain price in the future and also used to relieve private consumers and consumers and businesses. In addition, a solidarity levy is supported for other companies that do business with fossil fuels.
However, EU ministers could not agree on a price cap for Russian gas on Friday. Czech Energy Minister Jozef Sikela, who chaired the meeting, asked for more time to allow states and the European Commission to investigate exactly where the price cap would apply, for example in European wholesale. “I am very pleased that ministers agree that we need an urgent and robust EU solution,” said Sikela. “Unprecedented measures for an unprecedented situation,” Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson announced in the coming week.
Measures limited
An instrument could also be created to help energy suppliers with payment difficulties. What all measures have in common is that they should be limited in time, as a summary of the Czech presidency shows. However, the fundamentals of the energy market must be preserved. This means, for example, that the most expensive producing power plant determines the price of electricity.
In the run-up to the run-up, several countries, unlike Austria, had spoken out against binding demands. For others, these don’t go far enough. For example, Belgium and Italy want an EU-wide gas price cap that affects all imports, not just Russian ones. Samson objected that this might jeopardize supplies.
As reported, the Austrian government had spoken out against a price cap for Russian natural gas. However, Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) argued for greater separation of electricity and gas. After the EU commission has worked out the details of the electricity emergency plan, the individual EU states are responsible for the specific legislative proposals. Austrian Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) assumes that the emergency measures can be taken in September.
Source: Krone
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