Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on the European Commission in a letter on Friday 13 September to respond urgently to a crisis of high electricity prices in southeastern Europe, pointing out that repeated Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have contributed to electricity prices in the region more than doubling this summer.
Relayed by the Financial Times, the contents of this letter include a request to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to increase cross-border capacity to cope with high electricity prices in Greece. These averaged €135 per MWh in July, compared with €60 in April.
Countries such as Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania have also been hit by a sharp rise in prices since the summer, due to heat, low rainfall and power cuts.
Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy system have also meant that Kyiv has had to import large volumes of energy from its EU neighbours.
As winter approaches, the European Commission’s course of action appears to be one of continued energy support for Ukraine, as Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson reaffirmed at the presentation of the 2024 State of the Energy Union report on 11 September (see EUROPE 13480/2).
Proposal for a permanent intervention mechanism. Quoted by several Romanian media sources, Romanian Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja explained at the end of the national Energy Command meeting on 13 September that his country could not bear all the costs of solidarity with Ukraine.
A joint plan with Greece and Bulgaria is due to be presented to the EU Council in the next few days, to address the “shortcomings” of the single electricity market in southeastern Europe and thereby “promote an integrated market and a fair competitive economic environment”.
This plan could take the form of a permanent intervention mechanism in the event of extreme prices and call for more funds for investment, particularly in interconnections (between Austria and Hungary, and between Austria and Slovakia), a postponement of the deadlines for closing coal-fired power stations, or an extension of the capping on consumer bills. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)