The Twenty-seven will debate this Friday on the emergency measures of the energy market

They will address the leaks in the Nordstream 1 and 2 gas pipelines

BRUSELAS, 29 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The energy ministers of the European Union will meet this Friday to discuss the package of emergency measures to intervene in the European energy market, including a 10% reduction in electricity consumption or the "solidarity" rate of companies of fossil fuels.

The holders of Energy of the Twenty-seven will try to reach an agreement on a battery of measures proposed by the European Commission such as setting a voluntary and mandatory reduction in electricity demand, as well as a system to recover the extraordinary benefits of electricity producers inframarginal taxes and the solidarity contribution for fossil fuel firms. Three measures for which there is a priori broad consensus among EU countries.

Thus, the energy ministers will discuss the Brussels proposal to reduce electricity demand by 10% until the end of March 2023. A measure within the framework of which it has been proposed to set a mandatory 5% reduction in electricity consumption during peak consumption hours.

In addition, the Twenty-seven will address the proposal of the Community Executive to recover extraordinary income from inframarginal electricity-producing technologies, that is, those that currently produce electricity at prices lower than those of gas and sell it on the wholesale electricity market (pool). .

Thus, through this instrument, it is proposed to reuse the extra benefits of these technologies to support the most vulnerable consumers by setting a maximum price of 180 euros/MWh at which these inframarginal technologies, such as renewables and nuclear, can sell electricity. electricity.

The third measure under debate is the application of a "contribution" or tax of 33% to the profits of intermediary companies for the sale of fossil fuels, such as oil or gas companies, on the extraordinary profits obtained from 2022 that are 20 % of the measure of the last three fiscal years, that is, from January to 2019.

The Twenty-seven will also debate the working document presented this week by the Community Executive and in which it proposes setting a cap on the price of natural gas in the price formation system of the electricity market, with a formula similar to the so-called 'exception Iberian', the measure with which Spain and Portugal have been able to temporarily limit the price of gas for electricity production and contain the escalation of energy prices.

In addition, the energy ministers will address another of the legs of the Community Executive document that is based on establishing a maximum price at the price of gas imports from Russia to the community market, either through a gas pipeline or in the form of Liquefied Natural Gas. (LNG) to reduce the influence of Moscow in the European energy market.

It will not be, however, at this Friday's meeting when a decision in this regard is clarified due to the lack of consensus between the countries, taking into account that this week 15 member states presented a proposal to Brussels to propose establishing a limit to all gas imports to the EU, a measure that the European Commission has assessed as posing more risks than limiting this cap on Russian gas, according to community sources.

The Brussels proposal has another of its pillars in the agreements for the import of gas into the EU with trusted partners, a proposal with which to strengthen the EU's negotiating power and contain the escalation of prices in the markets.

In addition, at the request of Sweden and Germany, the energy ministers will address the leaks produced in the Nordstream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, considering that this week the European Union has pointed out that the damage is due to "deliberate acts" and has warned that will respond in a "united and solid" way if it is shown that the leak was provoked.

At an information point where all Member States are expected to speak out, the countries will share their concerns about the risks these leaks pose both to safety and to the environment and will call for an investigation to be carried out into the matter as well as proposals to strengthen the EU's resilience.