Energy: heating at risk for 50 million Europeans. The EU Commissioner's alarm

Next winter promises to be particularly complicated on the energy front for millions of families in Europe. Over 50 million citizens may not be able to adequately heat their homes due to prohibitive energy prices. The estimate, probably destined to grow in the coming months, comes directly from the European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Dan Jorgensen, on the sidelines of the EU Council in Luxembourg. Although the European Union is in a structurally more solid position compared to the dramatic 2022, the current crisis is of deep concern because, unlike in the past, it does not only affect gas but extends to oil and petroleum products, putting both family budgets and the competitiveness of businesses at risk.

The pillars for saying goodbye to fossil fuels

The message sent by Commissioner Jorgensen to the governments of the Member States is peremptory: accelerate independence from fossil fuels by all means to ease the pressure on consumers in the short term. To do this, the Commission promotes an integrated strategy that focuses primarily on efficiency and electrification, through the widespread replacement of old gas or fuel oil boilers with the most modern electric heat pumps. At the same time, we are asked to encourage the mass transition from vehicles with internal combustion engines towards electric models and to massively increase investments in the development of renewable energy, while intervening on the costs and development of electricity grid infrastructure.

Why Europe is stronger than in 2022

If the current situation is defined as serious, the European Union still boasts a superior reaction capacity compared to the crisis that erupted in 2022. This step forward is mainly due to two strategic factors. On the one hand, the EU has managed to cut overall gas consumption by 18% compared to pre-crisis levels. On the other hand, energy dependence on Russia has been almost completely eliminated, which in the past covered as much as 45% of community supplies, diversifying supplies through a plurality of global partners who today guarantee greater security.

The supply paradox

Jorgensen's thesis is clear: European deposits are protected and a crisis of physical availability of the raw material is not expected, as happened in the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine. However, the issue has shifted entirely to purchasing power. For a citizen who does not have the financial resources to refuel the car or turn on the radiators, the fact that the fuel is physically present on the market becomes completely irrelevant. For this reason, the Council is considering the urgent adoption of further energy welfare measures.