IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol in Paris in March 2022. Photo: Michel Euler/AP/dpa
The energy price brake still applies in Germany. But in Great Britain, for example, the energy price guarantee for gas and electricity recently expired. The IEA warns that a cold winter could cause problems.
The head of the International Energy Agency IEA has warned that energy prices could rise again next winter. “In a scenario where the Chinese economy is very strong and buying a lot of LNG from the markets and there is a cold winter, we could see upward pressure on natural gas prices,” IEA chief Fatih Birol told the BBC on Monday . This will also put additional strain on consumers. Birol recommended that governments promote renewable energy and encourage energy conservation.
In Germany, the energy price brakes still apply for the current year. These apply to 80 percent of consumption compared to the previous year and cap the electricity price at 40 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), for gas at 12 cents and for heat at 9.5 cents. An extension until April 2024 is possible. In the UK, the government’s energy price guarantee for gas and electricity of £2,500 (€2,900) for an average household expired in June. (dpa)