Podcast

Exploding energy prices

Why the sudden spike in European electricity and gas prices?

Publishing date
23 September 2021

Wholesale gas prices have reached record highs in the past months, leaving EU governments scrambling for emergency aid to help households cope with their rising bills. However, this is not only about energy: though its origins might be environmental, there are diplomatic, social and economic consequences for governments and citizens. And less than two months after the EU’s bold ‘Fit-for-55’ climate initiative, a gas crisis is threatening the EU’s green agenda.

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro hosts Bruegel scholars Simone Tagliapietra and Georg Zachmann on the back of their recent blog post on the price of electricity.

 

Recommended readings:

Tagliapietra, S. and G. Zachmann (2021) ‘Rethinking the security of the European Union’s gas supply’, Policy Contribution 2016, Bruegel

Tagliapietra, S. and G. Zachmann (2021) ‘Is Europe’s gas and electricity price surge a one-off?’, Bruegel Blog, 13 September

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Dataset

European natural gas imports

This dataset aggregates daily data on European natural gas import flows and storage levels.

Georg Zachmann, Ben McWilliams, Ugnė Keliauskaitė and Giovanni Sgaravatti