Jan 6, 2025
Italy is urging the European Union to set a cap on gas prices at 60 euros per megawatt hour.
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Italy's Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin stated on Friday that the European Union needs to extend its emergency gas price cap and establish a limit of 60 euros per megawatt hour to avert a potential energy price crisis.
Concerns regarding an energy crisis have escalated after Ukraine opted not to renew its gas transit agreement with Russia, effectively ending Russia's long-held control over Europe’s energy markets.
The current EU price cap is set to expire at the end of this month and only comes into effect if European gas prices surpass 180 euros per megawatt hour, a figure not seen since the initial stages of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
'I believe the EU should renew the price cap at this stage -- which we have requested -- but not at 180 euros; it should be set at 50 or 60 euros,' the Italian minister remarked in a radio interview.
'This would curb purely financial transactions that bear no relation to the actual raw materials, which impose a burden on households and businesses.'
According to LSEG data, the front-month gas contract at the Dutch TTF hub was priced at 50.17 euros per megawatt hour, an increase of 0.4 euros, marking the highest level in over a year.
Goldman Sachs indicated in a report that the cessation of Russian gas supplies coupled with colder-than-average weather may push the price up to 84 euros.
Italy's energy minister assured that the country has sufficient gas reserves to prevent any disruptions in the upcoming two months. 'I assure everyone, we have no issues. The gas storage system in the country is nearly 80% full.'
Since 2022, Italy has been steadily increasing its capacity to import liquefied natural gas as part of its strategy to substitute Russian supplies.
With a new floating terminal expected to commence commercial operations in early April, Italy anticipates being able to import up to 28 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas annually, matching the volume it received through pipelines from Russia in 2021.
Last year, Italy's total gas consumption was approximately 61 billion cubic meters, with Algeria and the Nordics being the primary suppliers.
Concerns regarding an energy crisis have escalated after Ukraine opted not to renew its gas transit agreement with Russia, effectively ending Russia's long-held control over Europe’s energy markets.
The current EU price cap is set to expire at the end of this month and only comes into effect if European gas prices surpass 180 euros per megawatt hour, a figure not seen since the initial stages of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
'I believe the EU should renew the price cap at this stage -- which we have requested -- but not at 180 euros; it should be set at 50 or 60 euros,' the Italian minister remarked in a radio interview.
'This would curb purely financial transactions that bear no relation to the actual raw materials, which impose a burden on households and businesses.'
According to LSEG data, the front-month gas contract at the Dutch TTF hub was priced at 50.17 euros per megawatt hour, an increase of 0.4 euros, marking the highest level in over a year.
Goldman Sachs indicated in a report that the cessation of Russian gas supplies coupled with colder-than-average weather may push the price up to 84 euros.
Italy's energy minister assured that the country has sufficient gas reserves to prevent any disruptions in the upcoming two months. 'I assure everyone, we have no issues. The gas storage system in the country is nearly 80% full.'
Since 2022, Italy has been steadily increasing its capacity to import liquefied natural gas as part of its strategy to substitute Russian supplies.
With a new floating terminal expected to commence commercial operations in early April, Italy anticipates being able to import up to 28 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas annually, matching the volume it received through pipelines from Russia in 2021.
Last year, Italy's total gas consumption was approximately 61 billion cubic meters, with Algeria and the Nordics being the primary suppliers.