In the European Union, wholesale gas prices are to be capped under certain circumstances. The energy ministers of the EU states agreed on Monday on the possibility of such a drastic market intervention, as a spokeswoman for the EU Council of Ministers announced.
The German Press Agency learned from diplomats that the gas price at the TTF trading venue should not exceed the limit of 180 euros per megawatt hour under certain conditions. Germany voted for it.
Most recently, the gas price on the TTF on Monday was around 110 euros per megawatt hour. In August, the price on the TTF reached a high of over 340 euros per megawatt hour.
The federal government had long resisted such a mechanism. She had feared that security of supply would then be jeopardized because suppliers could sell their gas on Asian markets, for example, where they could achieve higher prices.
The project basically affects major customers who trade on the TTF – not end consumers, as is the case with the federal government’s gas price brake. Consumer prices are indirectly influenced by wholesale prices.
