On the leading Amsterdam gas exchange, gas was barely 6% cheaper around 11.15 am than the day before. Despite the decline, prices are still eight times higher than normal for the time of year. At the end of August, however, the European gas price peaked at almost 350 euros per megawatt hour.
European Union energy ministers on Friday called for urgent measures to curb costs and give the market a breath of fresh air. Commission chair Ursula von der Leyen, who called for an emergency intervention, is expected to announce concrete steps this week.
That, against the expectations and threat of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the 27 European energy ministers did agree last week to investigate a price ceiling for gas, Belgian energy minister Tinne Van der Straeten (Groen) was like a feather in her hat. But the road to such a real maximum price is still long.
Members of the country bloc, who all have different energy needs, are divided on how to introduce gas price caps. Some countries, such as Belgium, do not see a limit on the price for only Russian gas. The Netherlands and other countries do not want a wider price ceiling for all gas that the EU imports. Norway, a major supplier of gas to Europe, is generally skeptical about the introduction of a price cap.
During last week’s talks, European politicians also did not take any hard decisions about mandatory reductions in energy consumption.
Also see: Russia no longer supplies oil or gas at price ceiling
Natural gas consumption can be expressed in cubic meters or in kilowatt hours. Your bill shows the natural gas consumption in kilowatt hours (kWh) – what is the consumption in one hour? – while your meter shows the delivered number of cubic meters (m³) of gas. The energy exchange expresses everything in megawatt hours = 1,000 kilowatt hours. 1 megawatt hour of energy is roughly equivalent to 100 cubic meters of natural gas.
In 2020, according to the VREG, an average Flemish family consumed 13,172 kWh of natural gas on an annual basis, but this is highly dependent on many factors such as type of heating, insulation, cooking method, etc. The natural gas consumption of an average family amounts to 2,326 kWh ( cooking + hot water). If natural gas is also used for heating, consumption rises to an average of 23,260 kWh.