The price of electricity exploded on the markets. To stop this unbridled outbreak which weighs on the wallets of European households and public authorities, an emergency meeting of the energy ministers of the twenty-seven is convened at the end of next week. On the menu for discussion: the formation of the price of electricity.
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The price of electricity has multiplied by ten in one year. It is calculated according to the electricity production. As it cannot be stored, in periods of high demand, this price of electricity is calculated on that of the last kilowatt produced in Europe. And often, during peak periods, it is a gas-fired power plant, located in Germany, which takes care of it. Plants that are more expensive to run – especially with a high gas price – which automatically increases the price of electricity.
Except that, as Bruno Le Maire has been saying for months, in France we produce carbon-free electricity: nuclear and hydraulic too. So there is no reason for us to pay a high price for our electricity. Moreover, two countries in Europe, Spain and Portugal, have obtained a derogation from the European Commission and pay less for their electricity, quite simply because they are not connected to the European network. So what to do?
It’s a necessity. The surge in gas prices is long-lasting. Everyone agrees. Even the German executive now considers that it is urgent to review the European energy market. But finding an agreement on such a complex, technical, sensitive subject, with multiple challenges, will necessarily take time. Especially since European political time is a long time, even if decision-making has been much faster since the health crisis.
The urgency despite everything is to spend the winter. The twenty-seven will therefore no doubt, initially, find an instrument which makes it possible to cap electricity prices so that the bills of households and public authorities are not too high this winter with the arrival of the cold.