00:00The EU's energy chief has warned that volatility in the energy market is here to stay.
00:05And prices could get even worse.
00:08Dan Jorgensen is urging European governments to use existing flexibility
00:12to ease the pain at the pump for millions of Europeans.
00:16That comes as the Trump administration presses EU countries
00:20to release millions of barrels from their emergency oil stocks.
00:25Maria Tadeo, our chief editor, spoke to the energy commissioner in Brussels
00:29in an exclusive interview.
00:31The situation is quite serious.
00:34The prices are already quite high and it's felt by our citizens and by our companies.
00:41Unfortunately, I also have to say that it is going to become probably even worse during the winter
00:48because we do not see any immediate solutions to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.
00:56And even when it opens, it'll take some time for that to have the effects that we want on the
01:01market.
01:02So unfortunately, we will see a pressure on fuels.
01:06So both oil and gas and diesel and jet fuels during the winter.
01:10What measures are you looking at and how quickly can they be implemented?
01:15So fortunately, there are things that can be done also on the short term.
01:19Most of these things need to be adopted by the member states in the member states.
01:24That is, for instance, as we recommend, lowering the tax on electricity.
01:28This will lower the costs of living for normal citizens
01:33and it will also help transitioning away from fossils into a more electricity-driven economy.
01:40So this is just one of the examples that can be done.
01:43So as it stands, you do not see a big intervention coming from Brussels.
01:47Many things can be done from Brussels and via collective decisions in the European Union.
01:53And we have done so, for instance, a grids package and electrification plan.
01:57But most of those things are more structural changes.
02:00They are very, very necessary.
02:02But the things that will work tomorrow or the day after tomorrow,
02:05that needs to obviously be something that's done nationally.
02:08And we have then provided the way for these decisions in Europe
02:11by setting up schemes so that you can give subsidies,
02:14by setting up schemes so that, for instance,
02:16you can have social leasing of electric vehicles instead of combustion engine cars.
02:21We have a whole catalogue of things that's been provided
02:24as possibilities for member states that they can use.
02:27You sent a letter in which you focused on two things to European ministers,
02:31the storage levels and also asking for measures for as long as possible
02:34to reduce some of the demand for both gas and oil.
02:38Is that being answered?
02:39And will you at some point have to make that compulsory force a reduction in demand of energy?
02:45Yes, I also had a meeting with ministers this week.
02:50And it's very clear that we are all very well aware that this is a crisis
02:55and things need to be done.
02:56Now, it is a little bit different from country to country what member states choose to do.
03:01But clearly, demand reduction is one of the most important things that you can do.
03:06And even if these measures are mandatory or are not mandatory at this point,
03:10would you consider to make them compulsory?
03:13If we see this escalation in prices, would you make them an obligation?
03:18There's no one-size-fits-all solution here.
03:20There's not one silver bullet.
03:22Had there been, we probably wouldn't have used it.
03:24There's not.
03:24But there's a lot of things that you can do.
03:27And we have put forward both a catalogue of things that can be done already tomorrow,
03:31but also new ideas that hopefully we will get the member states to support
03:36on how to electrify our economies faster,
03:40on how to make this shift from fossil into renewable energy much faster,
03:46on how to implement rules on energy efficiency much faster,
03:49because this will also mean that you use less of what it is that we are lacking right now.
03:54And when it comes to the storage,
03:56there are clear goals that have been set out in terms of the heating season and ahead of winter.
04:00The member states, however, they complain that there are two sources of tension.
04:05One is hitting the targets, but also if you go to the market now,
04:08it comes with an additional bill.
04:09In your view right now, what is the priority?
04:11To save the cash or actually still build up the storage?
04:15What we've done is we've coordinated the filling up of our storage facilities of gas all year,
04:21so to make sure that the bills do not become too high for member states.
04:25But it is, of course, expensive when the gas prices are high and we need to strike a balance.
04:32I do think that what we've done by loosening the rules
04:34so that you don't have to fill the storage as much as you used to,
04:38will alleviate some of this tension.
04:40But it is important for us to have these storages because, as I said,
04:44situations can become much worse.
04:47So you make the targets flexible, but you don't scrap them?
04:50No, we certainly don't scrap the targets.
04:52It's very important for our security of supply in Europe and for our security overall
04:57that we do have these targets.
05:01Do you see any scenario, the most stressed out scenario,
05:04heading into the winter in which the European Union faces shortages of energy,
05:09and that means lights out?
05:10So fortunately, we are not looking into a security of supply crisis.
05:15That would be extremely worrisome, of course.
05:19But I would like to warn that even though we don't lack fuel,
05:23it'll be there, we don't lack the gas, not to neglect the size of the problem,
05:27but because for the citizens or the companies that cannot afford it,
05:31it'll feel the same way.
05:32So if you cannot afford to adequately heat your home,
05:35it doesn't really matter that you could actually buy it out there on the market
05:38if you cannot afford it.
05:39So we do need to take this extremely serious.
05:41The energy market is reacting positively to reports that the U.S. is telling allies
05:46and forcing allies to release their diesel stocks.
05:50Is this going to happen?
05:51And is the U.S. telling you, release it and release it quickly?
05:54Will you do it?
05:55So we are discussing with all members of the International Energy Agency,
05:59not only the U.S., on when is the right time to release,
06:02because this is one of the opportunities that we have.
06:05We've used it before, and it is likely that we will use it again.
06:08But this is something that we discuss, of course, in the IA.
06:10You are saying we're not doing this as a result of pressure from the U.S.,
06:15but if we do it, and you just said it is a possibility,
06:17it's in coordination with the International Energy Agency?
06:20It is, of course, a decision of each member state.
06:24Do they want to do this or not?
06:25We try and coordinate via the EU, of course, our positions in the IA.
06:30And we do this with member states and also other members of the IA
06:35that are not a member of the European Union.
06:37And this is something that is being discussed as we speak.
