High-voltage talks
The EU needs “step up our game” in the fields of energy efficiency and the dash for renewables if it is to fulfil its aspirations to wean itself off Russian gas, the Netherlands’ climate and energy minister has said, write Sam Fleming and Andy Bounds in Brussels.
A number of southern European countries, including Spain, Greece and Italy, have been urging the EU to embrace price caps as a way of countering the recent surge in energy prices, alongside other potential reforms to the electricity markets.
Their argument is that the market is not functioning well and the impact of the war in Ukraine is being felt in soaring electricity prices, which are pegged to the price of gas. “It’s not a free market, it’s a free mess,” said one senior diplomat.
But Rob Jetten told Europe Express that the problem with measures such as price caps was that in the end someone would have to shoulder the cost — and this may end up falling on businesses or households. Spending money on price caps could mean diverting money away from wind farms, hydrogen and investments in energy efficiency, he added.
Rob Jetten says countries such as Spain and Portugal could use solar power ‘to become the green hydrogen producers of Europe’ © ANP/AFP via Getty Images
The immediate focus should be on diversifying sources of gas supply, economising on energy use, and focusing on boosting gas storage ahead of next winter, he said, setting out his priorities for ridding the Netherlands and fellow EU member states of Russian gas “as soon as possible”.
In Brussels, the European Commission is planning a 90 per cent target for gas storage by October. One way of fulfilling the goal would be to appoint a national company to purchase the gas needed for storage, Jetten said.
Another would involve the use of contracts for difference to compensate companies for the price gaps between the summer and winter. Officials have also been looking at compulsory storage requirements.
But in the medium term the focus needed to be on enacting the EU’s climate and energy efficiency agenda — including the emissions reductions in the Fit for 55 package. The Hague has a €35bn fund to deploy to turbocharge the building of wind and solar farms and hydrogen infrastructure, and the coalition on Friday will discuss “huge numbers” of new wind turbines in the North Sea.
Jetten added that countries such as Spain and Portugal could use solar power “to become the green hydrogen producers of Europe”.
The Hague is also embarking on a national information campaign to encourage energy efficiency. Measures include servicing boilers to reduce waste energy, and money for low-income households to install insulation.
Like other EU countries, the Netherlands is not averse to domestic subsidies to support energy customers. But Jetten stressed that his priority was on supporting lower-income households.