Energy prices are rocketing across Europe and with summer ending there are fears the situation could spiral out of control this winter.
European governments are scrambling for solutions. The EU has already implemented gas consumption directives, though it is not clear if this will be enough to avoid rationing and blackouts.
The Czech Republic, which holds the rotating EU presidency, has called for an EU summit to address the situation as soon as possible.
In a tweet, Czech industry minister Jozef Sikela said: “We are in an energy war with Russia and it is damaging the whole EU. In agreement with the European Commission and [the Czech] Prime Minister … I will propose to convene an extraordinary meeting of the EU Energy Council at the earliest possible date.”
Europe’s biggest economies are set the suffer the most.
In France, a country highly dependent on nuclear energy, the shutdown of numerous reactors for maintenance sent the cost per megawatt-hour soaring to 900 euros on the futures market — ten times higher than a year ago.
Germany meanwhile had one of the closest energy relationships with Russia before the war. The continuous supply cuts by Gazprom and the planned shutdown of the Nordstrom pipeline at the end of August have caused energy prices to hit record levels.
To make matters worse, renewable energies have suffered the consequences of one of the hottest and driest summers in living memory. Rivers are running low, with no power to move hydroelectric power plants at full capacity or to transport fossil fuel cargo.
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