Brussels, 22/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - The communication laying down the Energy/Climate framework between now and 2030, which was unveiled by the Commission on 22 January, is accompanied by a report on the prices and costs of energy, in order to assess the key factors and compare prices in an international context.
The report establishes that energy prices have been on the up in almost all member states since 2008, largely due to taxes and charges, but also due to the increase in network costs. An international comparison highlights an increase in price gaps between the EU and its major commercial partners - EU gas prices are 3 to 4 times higher than those of the United States, whose market is topped up by cheap shale gas, India and Russia, and electricity prices are more than double prices in the US and Russia and 20% higher than in China - which could harm Europe's competitiveness, particularly for its high energy-consumption industries.
While fossil fuels remain a key factor in setting electricity and gas prices, the report shows that the price of coal set by the ETS does not have statistical impact on the retail prices of electricity. By contrast, subsidies to renewables are a factor for rising prices in electricity.
The rise in energy prices can be partly compensated through effective energy and climate policies on the level of costs, through competitive energy markets (over 80% of electricity production remains under the control of historical operators in eight member states, and half of the EU's gas supply remains linked to oil) and a more integrated single market, and through measures of energy efficiency and improvement, such as the use of more economic products, the Commission concludes. The endeavours of European industry on energy efficiency will have to go still further, given that competitors are doing the same thing and that European industry is deciding to invest abroad to bring it closer to expanding markets, the Commission adds. (EH/transl.fl)