EU energy ministers plan to discuss the alarming increase in energy prices on October 6 at a session expected to take into consideration a proposal made by Greek energy minister Kostas Skrekas for a temporary hedging mechanism that would be linked to the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) as a means of protecting consumers against the overall energy cost ascent, caused by a combination of unfavorable factors, internationally.

Higher energy costs, which have energy consumers, including industrial, bracing for a challenging winter, will also be a key issue at a EU Summit meeting on October 21 and 22.

Natural gas prices yesterday climbed to 85 euros per MWh, several times over levels registered earlier in the year, oil prices exceeded 80 dollars per barrel, and CO2 emission rights, on a record-breaking streak, reached 62 euros per ton.

Besides these price rises, energy sufficiency issues are also beginning to emerge around Europe, as well as in China, for a variety of reasons.

In Greece, the combination of higher prices for primary and secondary materials, greater transportation costs, given the country’s location on the edge of Europe, plus the increase in energy prices, threatens to paralyze the industrial sector.

The country’s energy-intensive consumers are calling for a revision to supply rules. In the domestic retail electricity market, suppliers are being forces to revise prices. Some have so far resisted but are battling against narrowing profit margins. Customer shifts by disgruntled customers are already being observed.