by Oui
Mon Dec 19th, 2022 at 03:56:53 PM EST
Situation during the Covid-19 pandemic - Nov. 2021
Energy poor must not bear the cost of soaring energy prices
Rising energy prices put European households in jeopardy, particularly energy-poor and vulnerable households. While gas, electricity and carbon prices are soaring across Europe, millions of European are forced into unacceptable choices between heating or paying their rent. People on lower income living in poorly insulated homes and reliant on fossil gas for heating will suffer the most.
Frontpaged with minor edit - Frank Schnittger
Fuel for poverty: A model for the relationship between income and fuel poverty
Since the start of the energy crisis in September 2021, €705.5 billion has been allocated and earmarked across European countries to shield consumers from the rising energy costs.
Here's the breakdown:
- €600.4 billion in the EU, of which €264 billion has been earmarked by Germany alone
- €97 billion in the UK, after a U-turn by government that reduced the period of the energy price freeze from 2 years to 6 months
- €8.1 billion in Norway
The current increase in wholesale energy prices in Europe has prompted governments to put in place measures to shield consumers from the direct impact of rising prices. The purpose of this dataset is to track and give a (non-exhaustive) overview of the different policies used by countries at national level to mitigate the effect of the price spike for consumers.
Energy bills are soaring in Europe. This is what countries are doing to help you pay them | EuroNews - Oct. 26, 2022 |
A rant from Dutch News website about Rutte, his party VVD and lacking leadership and decision making.
Soaring energy prices exposed the government's low-watt crisis management
Been there, done that. The Dutch energy crisis brings with it a sense of deja vu, writes Gordon Darroch.
Stop me if you've heard this one before. For weeks the government ignored the impending crisis and the experts imploring it to take preventive action. Other experts warned that we should wait and see rather than act in haste and disrupt the economy: the cure should not be worse than the disease.
As the true scale of the problem became clear, ministers vacillated and said their options were limited, that direct intervention was incompatible with a free society, or that exposing people to risk was the better option in the long run.
The energy crisis will be triggering flashbacks in anyone who has followed the Dutch pandemic response. Then as now, the government prevaricated in the face of a rapidly escalating crisis before frantically tugging levers when it realised it was about to be overwhelmed.
....
[As the pandemic appeared to have slowed down, the energy prices came off its lows and started to rise in the autumn of 2021]
Again the government's response was piecemeal, starting with a one-off discount on energy bills of €200 for the poorest households which rose to €800 as inflation and gas prices snowballed.
By the summer this was up to €1,300, but by now inflation had charged ahead to 13% and householders coming off fixed-rate tariffs were facing crippling energy bills of more than €5,000 a year.
Ministers dismissed the idea of a cap on energy prices, arguing it would give people a perverse incentive to consume more fuel. It still hadn't dawned on them that the choice for growing numbers of people wasn't between installing solar panels and lining the loft: it was whether to freeze or go hungry.
They also protested that it would interfere with the workings of the free market, [and preferred to wait for coordination from Brussels] apparently oblivious to how Putin has been abusing the freedom to name his own price for years. [nonsense statement]
A study in ignorance
A characteristic of both crises is that the Dutch government has an army of experienced researchers at its disposal, yet constantly manages to be ambushed by reality. `Meten is weten' - to measure is to know - is a popular Dutch axiom. Here it was more a case of `gemeten en vergeten' - measured and forgotten.
A Festive Ireland
