Subject: Profiteering by energy companies
The announced energy crisis has opened the door to unbridled rapacity on the part of energy suppliers, generating up to tenfold profit increases at the expense of consumers, who are now even being required to make advance payments against future price rises. In other words, the threatened crisis appears to have been a pretext for premature and excessive price increases on the part of suppliers, leaving European citizens at the mercy of profiteering and poor management.
In view of this:
1. Can the Commission say what steps it will take to protect EU consumers from arbitrary and excessive increases, frequently payable in advance, failing which they risk having their power cut off?
2. Given the knock-on effect of over-indebtedness on sectors such as food and health, what measures will it take to ensure that these basic everyday needs are met and avoid a widespread humanitarian crisis within the European Union?
Submitted: 7.11.2022
Answer given by Ms Simson on behalf of the European Commission
(10 February 2023)
An integrated package of urgent market interventions, adopted by the Council on 6 October 2022 (1), aims at delivering immediate benefits in the context of the energy crisis: electricity demand reduction to limit the use of expensive and scarce natural gas, introduction of a revenue cap on ‘inframarginal’ generators, a solidarity contribution from fossil fuel companies and using the acquired funds for the benefit of support measures for final customers. Member States are now working on its implementation.
In December 2022, further emergency measures have been adopted by the Council to address high gas prices and ensure security of supply this winter, complemented by a market correction mechanism (2).
In the longer run, the Commission is also pursuing work on a structural reform of the EU’s electricity market, with the objective of bringing the benefits of affordable renewable and low-carbon energy to consumers.
All the above mentioned measures also benefit the agriculture and food sector.
One of the criteria identified in the ‘Save Gas for a Safe Winter’ Communication (3) for prioritising essential non-protected customers, was ‘societal criticality’, under which it is recognised that those customers involved in sectors including health and food should be considered as essential.
The Commission has also adopted a series of measures to support farmers and consumers alike, including an extraordinary support financial assistance package of EUR 500 million (4).
The Temporary Crisis Framework (5) enables Member States to step up state aid support to farmers and other undertakings. Member States have the possibility to implement reduced rates of Value Added Tax and economic operators are encouraged to contain retail prices, to address food affordability.
1 ∙ ⸱ Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854 of 6 October 2022 on an emergency intervention to address high energy prices: https://eur‐lex.europa.eu/legal‐
content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.LI.2022.261.01.0001.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AL%3A2022%3A261I%3ATOC 2 ∙ ⸱ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32022R2576 and https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R2578 3 ∙ ⸱ COM/2022/360 final: ‘Save gas for a Safe Winter’: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52022DC0360&qid=1658479881117 4 ∙ ⸱ COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2022/467.
5 ∙ ⸱ First adopted on 23 March 2022, latest version on 28 October 2022 — https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv
%3AOJ.C_.2022.426.01.0001.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AC%3A2022%3A426%3ATOC