Brussels has finally accepted that Spain and Portugal can introduce a ceiling on the price of gas when used to generate electricity as a temporary measure to reduce electricity bills.
Pedro Sanchez and his Portuguese counterpart, Costa, fought for hours against fierce opposition from countries, such as Germany and France, who are almost totally dependent on Russian gas.
“Not so,” for Spain and Portugal, argued Sanchez, when it became clear the members would not vote for the measure as “universal” for the EU. For Spain and Portugal buy a fraction of their gas from Russia and, argued Sanchez, should be treated as an exception.
The argument eventually triumphed and Sanchez has brought a deal home from Brussels, albeit temporary, which should substantially reduce the price of electricity.
Now we await an announcement of the other measures the EU will take to reduce fuel bills, including the price at the pumps, and the package of measures the Government promises to introduce on March 29.
There may be no connection but the price of electricity on the wholesale market has dropped by 10% today!
Editor´s Note:
The electricity companies currently charge customers the highest production cost for all their electricity ie. using gas.
