European Union's energy ministers agreed on Monday to establish a gas price ceiling of €180 per megawatt-hour (MWh). The Czech presidency of the European Council tabled a cap of €188/MWh, after an earlier proposal by the European Commission of €275/MWh was rejected as too high.
The cap will come into force on February 15. It will trigger if the Dutch TTF natural gas futures exceed the price of €180/MWh and are at least €35 above the average price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for three days.
According to reports, Germany voted in favor of the cap, the Netherlands and Austria abstained, while Hungary was against it. "We have negotiated a cap on gas prices and managed to reach a very important deal to secure affordable energies for European households and businesses," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.
