ANP extension
ANNOUNCEMENTS•
The price of European gas fell sharply in just a few weeks. During the freezing cold of early December, it was still at 150 euros per megawatt hour. Today it is 82 euros. And with that, the price is back to the level it was earlier this year, before the war in Ukraine.
In August the price reached a peak of over 300 euros. Then it became clear that Russia was pumping less and less gas into Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. After the underwater explosions in September, the transport of gas through that pipe came to a complete halt.
The drop in gas prices is partly due to the relatively mild winter weather in recent weeks. Europe’s gas reserves are also still reasonably well filled, averaging over 83%.
Price limit
A lower European traded price for gas lags behind in a lower gas price that energy companies charge consumers and businesses. But for consumers who remain below the maximum gas price in 2023, this will make little difference, because they will still only pay the maximum price of 1.45 euros per cubic meter of gas set by the cabinet.
A lower gas price therefore makes a difference for consumers whose consumption exceeds the maximum price of 1200 cubic meters, because they then have to pay the normal price charged by the energy company. This also applies to large companies that consume a lot of gas.
And a lower gas price also benefits the government, because it then has to pay energy companies less to make up the difference between the cap price and the asking price. For example, a lower European gas price could save the government billions of euros in spending.
