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In Europe, around 47 million people are currently living in energy poverty and businesses are complaining that high energy prices make them much less competitive.
47 million people in EU Member States live in energy poverty. This means they have no money to heat their homes. Plus, businesses are complaining that high energy prices make them much less competitive with companies in the US and China. But, the EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing told Euronews that a plan has been put together to save a total of €2.5 trillion over the next 15 years:”Renewable energy is much cheaper than the fossil alternative. So that will bring the prices down. Also, if we are better connected in Europe, our electricity system, so we are more grids, we are more interconnectors, that will bring down the prices as well. And finally, the gas market, they need to be better controlled so that we make sure that they don’t have profits that are too high” explained Dan Jørgensen.Recommendations to member states on taxes and network chargesThe plan includes administrative measures such as further reducing the time needed to obtain permits for renewable energy, promoting energy efficiency solutions and reviewing the components of residential energy bills, namely network and system costs, taxes and levies and supply costs.A Commission will make recommendations to the member states to lower national taxes on electricity and enable consumers to switch suppliers more easily towards cheaper energy offers, among others.Member states have a key role to play in lowering electricity bills in the short term. The Commission will offer them support, especially in the areas of taxation and network charges, where immediate action can be taken. The Commission will issue a recommendation to member states on how to lower electricity taxation levels effectively and how to best take advantage of existing possibilities to decrease taxes for energy-intensive industries and households.The Commissioner says the proposed measures will have an impact on bills as soon as this year: “With these measures, we will save in Europe around €45 billion already the next year. So already from now and the year ahead, this will then of course increase. So the savings will be bigger. And in 2030 we will save more than €130 billion a year. So this is enormous amounts. Obviously this will also mean not only better competitiveness for our industries, but also for our households,” explained Jørgensen. Energy security can still be improvedThe Commissioner says that this is also linked to security. Europe is still buying too much Russian gas, and since the war broke out, European countries have imported enough gas from Russia to buy 2,400 F35 fighter jets. However, as Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said in a recent statement:”We’re driving energy prices down and competitiveness up. We have already significantly reduced energy prices in Europe by doubling down on renewables. Now, we are going a step further with the Affordable Energy Action Plan as part of our Clean Industrial Deal. With it, we will achieve more predictable prices, stronger connections across Europe, and increased energy offtake. We will systematically remove remaining obstacles so that we can build a true Energy Union.”
