ECONOMY
EU energy plan
September 29, 2022 - A growing number of EU states warn that plans to shield households and businesses from rising energy prices do not go far enough as they seek an EU-wide package of windfall taxes.
European energy ministers convene on Friday (September 30) to discuss an EU-wide package of national windfall taxes to raise funds to curb gas and electricity prices.
UK prime minister Liz Truss has announced an estimated £150 billion (€167.7bn) package to shield Britain from soaring energy prices -- but with just six months’ cover for business compared with two years for households.
In the first days of Truss’s government, she unveiled a £40 billion (€44.9bn) plan to bail out energy traders.
France has been better at insulating its citizens from price rises than elsewhere in Europe to the extent that it relies little on natural gas and gets most of its electricity from nuclear power plants.
France has invested €71.6 billion, or 2.9 per cent of gross domestic product, to shield households and businesses, including €9.7bn bailing out utility companies.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has announced plans to cap electricity prices in 2023 at this year’s levels for the first 2000kWh consumed. Poland has earmarked €10.6bn for its energy crisis.
On September 3, Sweden announced it would provide €23.4bn to failing Nordic and Baltic utilities through credit guarantees.
In the Netherlands, the government has announced a price cap on electricity starting in January 2023, restricting the price of electricity to the average price from January 2022. The price cap will cost about €17.2bn and is the most significant part of the government’s €23.4bn energy funding.
In total, 27 European countries have committed an eye-watering €517.7bn in funds to alleviate the effects of the energy crisis.