The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, the country currently presiding over the European Union (EU), declared on Friday that it will convene an “urgent” meeting to address the energy crisis, triggered after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Czech presidency “will convene an urgent meeting of energy ministers to discuss specific emergency measures to deal with the energy situation,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Twitter.
(Also read: The price of energy skyrockets in the United Kingdom and aggravates the cost of living)
The 27 member states of the EU are trying to reduce their dependence on Russia for oil and gas supplies. Reduced supply and concerns about the future caused energy prices in Europe to skyrocket.
Czech Trade and Industry Minister Jozef Sikela said in a tweet that the European energy council should meet “as soon as possible.” “We are in an energy war with Russia and this harms the whole of the EU,” he declared.
.@EU2022_CZ will convene an urgent meeting of Energy Ministers to discuss specific emergency measures to address the energy situation.
— Petr Fiala (@P_Fiala) August 26, 2022
(You may be interested: Analysts predict that the war in Ukraine will last until 2023, why?)
Energy prices skyrocket
Just this Friday, the wholesale electricity prices by 2023 in Germany and France they broke new records, with 850 and more than 1,000 euros per megawatt hour ($851 and more than 1,001 dollars), respectively.
The explosion in prices — which were around 85 euros per megawatt hour ($85.1) a year ago — is due, among other reasons, to the decrease in Russian gas shipments to Europe since the war in Ukraine.
Many thermal power plants use gas to generate electricity. As the available gas is unreliable, its price is also at record levels.
(Also: European Union: 64% severely affected by worst drought in 500 years)
In France, the closure of nuclear reactors due to corrosion problems, especially, also boosted the price record. Only 24 of the 56 French reactors are working at the moment.
In the United Kingdom, the maximum price of energy that companies in the sector will be able to charge households per year from October 1 has been set at 3,549 pounds (4,202 euros), which represents an increase of 80% compared to to the current limit, British energy regulator Ofgem announced on Friday.
The maximum price is currently 1,971 pounds (2,325 euros) per year per household.
This strong increase is expected to further boost British year-on-year inflation, which currently stands at 10.1% but could reach 13% or more by the end of the year.
*With information from AFP and EFE
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