German, French electricity prices soar to new records
The price of electricity in Germany and France for 2023 has soared to new records due to the European energy crisis caused by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
According to AFP, in Germany, the price of electricity for the year ahead reached €850 ($850) per megawatt hours (MWh) in the stock market. The year-ahead contract in France’s bourse market passed €1,000 on Friday.
Compared to last year’s price, €85 in both countries, the year-ahead contracts in both countries’ markets indicate a stark rise in energy prices.
Soaring energy prices coupled with runaway inflation have put the livelihood of Europeans under heavy constraints after the Europeans severed their energy ties with Russia, the main supplier of natural gas to Europe, over the Ukraine conflict, triggering a dire economic crisis on the continent.
Russia, in turn, slashed natural gas supplies to the continent, with fears of more drastic cuts in the winter amid tensions between Moscow and the West over the conflict.
The shutdown of several nuclear reactors in France due to corrosion issues has contributed to the electricity price increase as power production has dramatically decreased in the country.
European countries have launched energy savings campaigns to prepare for the winter.
The Czech Republic, which holds the rotating European Union presidency, announced Friday that it would convene an EU energy crisis summit “at the earliest possible date.”
MG
