European Commission Warns of Worsening Energy Crisis as Prices Rise Ahead of Winter

Energy/Europe/Ministers/EU Commission warns of deepening energy crisis as prices rise ahead of winter Brussels, October 29 (KUNA) -- EU Energy Commissioner Daniel Jørgensen warned on Thursday that Europe’s energy crisis is worsening, with oil and natural gas prices surging amid conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, and called on member states to avoid “overdoing” government subsidies for fossil fuels. Speaking to journalists ahead of a meeting of European energy ministers in Luxembourg, Jørgensen said, “About 50 million Europeans cannot adequately heat their homes,” warning that this number could rise as the bloc enters the winter heating season amid an energy crisis he described as potentially more severe than the one Europe faced four years ago. He explained that “the European Union is better prepared to handle the current crisis than in 2022, thanks to reduced gas consumption and diversified supply sources,” noting that the bloc’s gas consumption had fallen by 18 percent compared with 2022. He added that “the EU has cut its reliance on Russian gas, which accounted for 45 percent of its total supplies, and now imports gas from various suppliers around the world,” but pointed out that “the current crisis is more complex because it is not limited to gas alone; it also involves oil and its derivatives.” These warnings come as European countries enter the winter heating season, while gas storage facilities are about 75 percent full, compared with 83 percent at the same time last year. Notably, wholesale gas prices in Europe briefly rose to around 100 euros ($111.14) per megawatt-hour for the first time since December 2022, making current prices roughly three times higher than levels before the outbreak of the war in Iran. (End) A.R.N. / A.M.S.