Italian Foreign Minister Proposes To Set $80 Cap Per MW/Hour On Russian Gas

ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th September, 2022) The European Union should impose a price cap of 80 Euros ($80.5) per megawatt/hour (MW) on Russian gas due to surging prices amid the halt of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Friday.

"A very important meeting of the EU energy ministers is scheduled for Friday where we should introduce a price cap on the gas deliveries. If (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has raised the gas prices to 270 euros per megawatt/hour, it is time to establish a ceiling of 80 euros," Di Maio said during his trip to Naples where he presented a report on Italy's foreign trade.

The foreign minister presumably meant the Monday's trade data when the energy prices surged to 270 euros per megawatt/hour after the shutdown of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline due to maintenance issues caused by sanctions.

On Thursday, gas prices at the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange jumped to nearly 221 euros per megawatt/hour after dropping on Wednesday to 213 euros.

Last Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU might introduce limits on the price of Russian natural gas after G7 finance ministers confirmed their intention to impose price caps for Russian oil as part of the expanded sanctions against Moscow. Russia pledged to stop exporting its oil to the states that would apply the limits.