A gas price cap was decided at EU level on Monday. Austria abstained from the vote due to one detail.
After a long struggle, the energy ministers of each EU country managed to reach an agreement on a gas price cap on Monday. In the EU, wholesale gas prices should be capped under certain circumstances, according to a spokeswoman for the EU Council of Ministers. According to the decision, the cap can be triggered from a price of 180 euros per megawatt-hour and activated from February 15, 2023.
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The price cap will be triggered when the price at the TTF wholesale center exceeds €180 per megawatt-hour for three consecutive days and is also €35 higher than the international price of liquefied natural gas (LNG). For comparison: on Monday the price on the TTF was around 110 euros, well below the set mark. After a long dispute, Germany also agreed to the maximum limit, also because security conditions were introduced in which the limit does not apply. These include: greatly increased gas demand or declining deliveries.
Austria has concerns
In addition to Germany, Austria also campaigned for these security guarantees. Otherwise, both countries fear possible problems with security of supply.
Austria abstained from the vote. Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) explained Tuesday in an interview with Ö1 that EU energy ministers have decided “a number of things that will help us to supply Europe well”. However, she abstained from the last decision for Austria. She is fundamentally convinced that the price cap – the “price correction mechanism”, as it is officially called – can help bring prices down.
However, it was agreed that this mechanism should be extended to all European gas trading centres. This would raise the issue of security of supply for Austria. As minister, she would be responsible for the security of energy supply and accessibility in Austria. Gewessler considers it a mistake that the rules were designed specifically for the TTF, so that they are now also used on other exchanges.
This expansion could also have an impact on security of supply, which applies to Austria in particular. “Even if we are taking big steps to leave our dependence on Russia, we still need these deliveries at the moment,” explained the politician on Monday after the meeting in Brussels.
Happy to buy gasoline together
However, politics are particularly pleased with a measure they have been advocating “for months”. This is a joint purchase of gas. Gewessler is convinced that this will become “the central instrument in Europe” with which to pool demand and appear on the world market. This will later lead to lower prices, Gewessler said.
Account navigation mrr Time 20.12.2022, 08:48 | Act: 12/20/2022, 11:14 am