Reuters: EU countries consider gas price cap at €180/MWh

On December 19, the energy ministers of the European Union countries discussed the possible level of gas price restrictions. The price limit can be €180 per megawatt-hour.

Reuters writes about it.

According to the agency, the Czech Republic, which holds the EU Council presidency, has proposed introducing a cap if prices at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) gas hub exceed €180 per megawatt-hour for three days.

Some countries, including Germany, warn that the price cap could have unintended negative consequences. In contrast, the draft proposal states that the limit can be suspended under certain circumstances. For example, if this will cause a significant increase in the margin requirements of gas market participants.

• In September, Russian Gazprom announced the suspension of gas supplies through the Nord Stream pipeline, which is the main gas pipeline for supplies to the EU. Due to this, gas prices in the EU have increased significantly. Later, supplies were restored, but Russia already significantly reduced supplies to Europe, in particular, completely stopped doing it through Ukraine.
• Against this background, the European Union began to develop a mechanism for limiting the price of Russian gas.