EU Energy Commissioner warns of high prices affecting households’ heating
EU rules require member states to meet an 80% gas storage target, which has been reduced from a previous requirement of 90%.
Nearly 50 million Europeans struggle to heat their homes adequately, highlighting the urgent social implications of high energy prices amid ongoing supply challenges.
“Nearly 50 million Europeans are already unable to adequately heat their homes in a normal winter,” noted Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, highlighting significant social risks.
No energy shortages, but a painful winter looms for Europe, top EU energy leader warns
Published on •Updated
European Union Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said the EU is not facing an imminent energy-supply crisis, but warned that high prices could have a similar impact on households unable to afford heating or travel to work.
The Danish Commissioner said nearly 50 million Europeans were already unable to adequately heat their homes in a normal winter, underscoring the social risks of another price shock.
“We are looking into all ideas of how we can make rules more flexible, be more efficient in our implementation, do what we can, both on the supply and the demand side,” Jørgensen told reporters on the sidelines of an informal gathering of energy ministers in Dublin on Tuesday.
Jørgensen welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron‘s ask for a temporary relaxation of some fuel rules to help refineries produce more diesel and other products in view of increasing domestic supply.
Asked whether another emergency oil release was in the cards, Fatih Birol, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) leader, who also attended the meeting in Dublin, did not consider it a top priority.
Countries have so far released about 20% of their strategic stocks, leaving roughly 80% available if supply disruptions become significantly worse and governments agree to further action, Birol noted.
The EU’s top energy leader also confirmed that the European Commission plans to delay by one year the enforcement of parts of the EU methane rules covering imports, arguing that this could ease pressure on energy markets while keeping the bloc’s longer-term climate goals intact.
“We stick to the objectives, we stick to our ambitions, but I’m proposing now that we take part of it, the parts that are connected to imports, and postpone the set and force date by one year,” Jørgensen said.
Despite the current high energy prices, Jørgensen focused on the need to accelerate the EU’s exit from fossil fuels by investing in more renewables, electrification and energy efficiency.
“Our answer is twofold: doubling down on the green transition and being flexible and pragmatic in this very difficult transition period. We must help member states, citizens and companies to help this crisis,” he added.
Nonetheless, efforts to prevent skyrocketing energy prices won’t include an EU-wide windfall tax, Jørgensen said, leaving EU countries to introduce national schemes within EU rules. Several EU countries have called on the Commission to propose such a target, as it did in 2022.
Jørgensen acknowledged that political pressure could push governments to subsidise fossil fuels, but urged them to keep such measures targeted and temporary to avoid undermining the bloc’s energy transition through tax policy.
Jørgensen and Birol urged countries to reconsider tax systems that heavily tax electricity while imposing lower taxes on gas. If governments want households and industry to switch from gas and oil to electricity, they need to make electricity affordable, particularly during a period of high energy prices, the pair warned. The topic is currently under discussion between the EU co-legislators, the European Council and the Parliament, with Germany showing reservations.
Gas storage remains another concern in the bloc’s energy equation. EU rules now require an 80% storage target, down from 90%, but Jørgensen said countries still need to meet it. Falling significantly short this winter could leave the EU starting the next refill season with less gas in reserve, creating what he described as a potentially damaging cycle.
Birol stressed that cooperation between gas-producing and consuming countries will also be critical, pointing to Norway, Canada and even Nigeria as examples of suppliers that can help Europe manage disruptions.