Energy minister Kostas Skrekas and a number of EU peers are expected to push for a lower gas price cap at tomorrow’s Council of energy ministers, believing the European Commission’s proposed level of 275 euros per MWh will not offer any solutions.

The European Commission, through the introduction of a price cap on gas, is seeking to address enormous discrepancies, as was the case in August, between the market price of derivatives and physical LNG deliveries.

Besides the group of EU energy ministers, Eurometaux, the European industry association, as well as other European agencies, have also expressed concern over the level of Brussels’ proposed price cap level for natural gas.

Briefing its members yesterday, Eurometaux estimated that a big price surge, well over current levels of between 110 and 120 euros per MWh, would be needed for the proposed price cap to be activated. A price cap of 275 euros per MWh would hardly ever be triggered, the association noted.

Eurometaux, in its briefing, also enquired whether the European Commission is proposing such an elevated gas price cap level because it foresees a new and far more severe gas crisis in 2023.