State legislators who want to increase government regulation of power plants presented an analysis concluding that consumers in states with deregulated energy markets — like Connecticut's — pay considerably more for electricity.
But neither their concerns nor the report by Power in the Public Interest is expected to reignite the debate over reversing the state's decade-old deregulation law when the General Assembly opens its session next week, legislators and energy industry lobbyists said.
"The players and the facts on the ground haven't fundamentally changed," said state Rep. Steve Fontana, D-North Haven, co-chairman of the legislature's energy committee.
Power generation and supply representatives dismissed the report, saying it failed to take several important factors into account.
In the face of rapidly rising electricity rates and after two years of debate, state legislators passed an energy bill last spring that focused on conservation and reducing demand rather than restoring a regulated market.
The legislation took few steps to reverse a landmark 1998 law that required utility companies in Connecticut to sell their power plants and buy electricity on the open market.
Fontana and state Rep. Vickie Nardello, D-Prospect, vice chairwoman of the energy committee, advocated having the state take more control over the electricity system. They opposed the final legislation, saying it didn't do enough to address rising rates.
Fontana and Nardello said the study from Power in the Public Interest, a group in Washington state formed by public utilities and utility organizations, shows why further action is needed. They said that although there is probably little support to take up large-scale energy reform again this year, they plan to propose several smaller measures.
The analysis found that in states that deregulated power generation over the last decade, consumers pay 4.4 cents more per kilowatt-hour for electricity than those in states with regulated markets. In Connecticut, the difference is more dramatic, with residents paying 8.4 cents more per kilowatt-hour. That amounts to $2.8 billion a year more overall, compared to costs in regulated states, the study found.
"The theory [of deregulation] is wrong," said Marilyn Showalter, executive director of Power in the Public Interest. "It is not just the theory is right and it didn't work."
Lobbyists and power industry executives said the analysis was simplistic, failing to take into account regional differences in fuel supplies, environmental standards and resistance to power plant construction. Industry officials cited other studies that found that consumers saved money compared to the former regulated system, under which utilities generated electricity.
"There are some fatal flaws with the analysis," said Chris Kallaher, director of government and regulatory affairs for Direct Energy, a retail supplier of electricity to businesses and homes in Connecticut.
NECEC Clean Energy Connect advances with Maine DEP permits, Hydro-Québec contracts, and rigorous transmission line mitigation, including tapered vegetation, culvert upgrades, and forest conservation, delivering low-carbon power, broadband fiber, and projected ratepayer savings.
Key Points
A Maine transmission project delivering Hydro-Québec power with strict DEP mitigation, lower bills, and added broadband.
✅ DEP permits mandate tapered vegetation, culvert upgrades, land conservation
✅ Hydro-Québec to supply 9.55 TWh/yr via MA contracts; bill savings 2-4%
✅ Added broadband fiber in Somerset and Franklin; local tax benefits
The Maine DEP reviewed the Clean Energy Connect project for more than two years, while regional interest in cross-border transmission continued to grow, before issuing permits that included additional environmental mitigation elements.
"Collectively, the requirements of the permit require an unprecedented level of environmental protection and compensatory land conservation for the construction of a transmission line in the state of Maine," DEP said in a May 11 statement.
Requirements include limits on transmission corridor width, forest preservation, culvert replacement and vegetation management projects, while broader grid programs like vehicle-to-grid integration enhance clean energy utilization across the region.
"In our original proposal we worked hard to develop a project that provided robust mitigation measures to protect the environment," NECEC Transmission CEO Thorn Dickinson said in a statement. "And through this permitting process, we now have made an exceedingly good project even better for Maine."
NECEC will be built on land owned or controlled by Central Maine Power. The 53 miles of new corridor on working forest land will use a new clearing technique for tapered vegetation, while the remainder of the project follows existing power lines.
Environmentalists said they agreed with the decision, and the mitigation measures state regulators took, noting similar momentum behind new wind investments in other parts of Canada.
"Building new ways to deliver low-carbon energy to our region is a critical piece of tackling the climate crisis," CLF Senior Attorney Phelps Turner said in a statement. "DEP was absolutely right to impose significant environmental conditions on this project and ensure that it does not harm critical wildlife areas."
Once complete, Turner said the transmission line will allow the region "to retire dirty fossil fuel plants in the coming years, which is a win for our health and our climate."
The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities in June 2019 advanced the project by approving contracts for the state's utilities to purchase 9,554,940 MWh annually from Hydro-Quebec. Officials said the project is expected to provide approximately 2% to 4% savings on monthly energy bills.
Total net benefits to Massachusetts ratepayers over the 20-year contract, including both direct and indirect benefits, are expected to be approximately $4 billion, according to the state's estimates.
NECEC "will also deliver significant economic benefits to Maine and the region, including lower electricity prices, increased local real estate taxes and reduced energy costs with examples like battery-backed community microgrids demonstrating local resilience, expanded fiber optic cable for broadband service in Somerset and Franklin counties and funding of economic development for Western Maine," project developers said in a statement.
EV Firefighter Cancer Risks: lithium-ion battery fires, toxic metals like nickel and chromium, hazardous smoke plumes, and prolonged exposure threaten first responders; SCBA use, decontamination, and evidence-based protocols help reduce occupational health impacts.
Key Points
Health hazards from EV battery fires exposing responders to toxic metals and smoke, elevating long-term cancer risk.
✅ Nickel and chromium in EV smoke linked to lung and sinus cancers
✅ Use SCBA, on-scene decon, and post-incident cleaning to cut exposure
✅ Adopt EV fire SOPs: cooling, monitoring, isolation, air monitoring
As electric vehicles (EVs) become more popular, the EV fire risks to firefighters are becoming an increasing concern. These fires, fueled by the high-capacity lithium-ion batteries in EVs, produce dangerous chemical exposures that could have serious long-term health implications for first responders.
Claudine Buzzo, a firefighter and cancer survivor, knows firsthand the dangers that come with the profession. She’s faced personal health battles, including rare pancreatic cancer and breast cancer, both of which she attributes to the hazards of firefighting. Now, as EV adoption increases and some research links adoption to fewer asthma-related ER visits in local communities, Buzzo and her colleagues are concerned about how EV fires might add to their already heavy exposure to harmful chemicals.
The fire risks associated with EVs are different from those of traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. Dr. Alberto Caban-Martinez, who is leading a study at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, explains that the high concentrations of metals released in the smoke from an EV fire are linked to various cancers. For instance, nickel, a key component in EV batteries, is associated with lung, nasal, and laryngeal cancers, while chromium, another metal found in some EV batteries, is linked to lung and sinus cancers.
Research from the Firefighter Cancer Initiative indicates that the plume of smoke from an EV fire contains significantly higher concentrations of these metals than fires from traditional vehicles. This raises the risk of long-term health problems for firefighters who respond to such incidents.
While the Electric Vehicle Association acknowledges the risks associated with various types of vehicle fires, they maintain that the lithium-ion batteries in EVs may not present a significantly higher risk than other common fire hazards, even as broader assessments suggest EVs are not a silver bullet for climate goals. Nonetheless, the growing body of research is causing concern among health experts, urging for further studies into how these new types of fires could affect firefighter health and how upstream electricity generation, where 18% of electricity in 2019 came from fossil fuels in Canada, factors into overall risk perceptions.
Fire departments and health researchers are working to understand the full scope of these risks and are emphasizing the importance of protective gear, such as self-contained breathing apparatuses, to minimize exposure during EV fire responses, while also considering questions like grid impacts during charging operations and EV sustainability improvements in different regions.
Boeing 787 More-Electric Architecture replaces pneumatics with bleedless pressurization, VFSG starter-generators, electric brakes, and heated wing anti-ice, leveraging APU, RAT, batteries, and airport ground power for efficient, redundant electrical power distribution.
Key Points
An integrated, bleedless electrical system powering start, pressurization, brakes, and anti-ice via VFSGs, APU and RAT.
✅ VFSGs start engines, then generate 235Vac variable-frequency power
✅ Bleedless pressurization, electric anti-ice improve fuel efficiency
✅ Electric brakes cut hydraulic weight and simplify maintenance
The 787 Dreamliner is different to most commercial aircraft flying the skies today. On the surface it may seem pretty similar to the likes of the 777 and A350, but get under the skin and it’s a whole different aircraft.
When Boeing designed the 787, in order to make it as fuel efficient as possible, it had to completely shake up the way some of the normal aircraft systems operated. Traditionally, systems such as the pressurization, engine start and wing anti-ice were powered by pneumatics. The wheel brakes were powered by the hydraulics. These essential systems required a lot of physical architecture and with that comes weight and maintenance. This got engineers thinking.
What if the brakes didn’t need the hydraulics? What if the engines could be started without the pneumatic system? What if the pressurisation system didn’t need bleed air from the engines? Imagine if all these systems could be powered electrically… so that’s what they did.
Power sources
The 787 uses a lot of electricity. Therefore, to keep up with the demand, it has a number of sources of power, much as grid operators track supply on the GB energy dashboard to balance loads. Depending on whether the aircraft is on the ground with its engines off or in the air with both engines running, different combinations of the power sources are used.
Engine starter/generators
The main source of power comes from four 235Vac variable frequency engine starter/generators (VFSGs). There are two of these in each engine. These function as electrically powered starter motors for the engine start, and once the engine is running, then act as engine driven generators.
The generators in the left engine are designated as L1 and L2, the two in the right engine are R1 and R2. They are connected to their respective engine gearbox to generate electrical power directly proportional to the engine speed. With the engines running, the generators provide electrical power to all the aircraft systems.
APU starter/generators
In the tail of most commercial aircraft sits a small engine, the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU). While this does not provide any power for aircraft propulsion, it does provide electrics for when the engines are not running.
The APU of the 787 has the same generators as each of the engines — two 235Vac VFSGs, designated L and R. They act as starter motors to get the APU going and once running, then act as generators. The power generated is once again directly proportional to the APU speed.
The APU not only provides power to the aircraft on the ground when the engines are switched off, but it can also provide power in flight should there be a problem with one of the engine generators.
Battery power
The aircraft has one main battery and one APU battery. The latter is quite basic, providing power to start the APU and for some of the external aircraft lighting.
The main battery is there to power the aircraft up when everything has been switched off and also in cases of extreme electrical failure in flight, and in the grid context, alternatives such as gravity power storage are being explored for long-duration resilience. It provides power to start the APU, acts as a back-up for the brakes and also feeds the captain’s flight instruments until the Ram Air Turbine deploys.
Ram air turbine (RAT) generator
When you need this, you’re really not having a great day. The RAT is a small propeller which automatically drops out of the underside of the aircraft in the event of a double engine failure (or when all three hydraulics system pressures are low). It can also be deployed manually by pressing a switch in the flight deck.
Once deployed into the airflow, the RAT spins up and turns the RAT generator. This provides enough electrical power to operate the captain’s flight instruments and other essentials items for communication, navigation and flight controls.
External power
Using the APU on the ground for electrics is fine, but they do tend to be quite noisy. Not great for airports wishing to keep their noise footprint down. To enable aircraft to be powered without the APU, most big airports will have a ground power system drawing from national grids, including output from facilities such as Barakah Unit 1 as part of the mix. Large cables from the airport power supply connect 115Vac to the aircraft and allow pilots to shut down the APU. This not only keeps the noise down but also saves on the fuel which the APU would use.
The 787 has three external power inputs — two at the front and one at the rear. The forward system is used to power systems required for ground operations such as lighting, cargo door operation and some cabin systems. If only one forward power source is connected, only very limited functions will be available.
The aft external power is only used when the ground power is required for engine start.
Circuit breakers
Most flight decks you visit will have the back wall covered in circuit breakers — CBs. If there is a problem with a system, the circuit breaker may “pop” to preserve the aircraft electrical system. If a particular system is not working, part of the engineers procedure may require them to pull and “collar” a CB — placing a small ring around the CB to stop it from being pushed back in. However, on the 787 there are no physical circuit breakers. You’ve guessed it, they’re electric.
Within the Multi Function Display screen is the Circuit Breaker Indication and Control (CBIC). From here, engineers and pilots are able to access all the “CBs” which would normally be on the back wall of the flight deck. If an operational procedure requires it, engineers are able to electrically pull and collar a CB giving the same result as a conventional CB.
Not only does this mean that the there are no physical CBs which may need replacing, it also creates space behind the flight deck which can be utilised for the galley area and cabin.
A normal flight
While it’s useful to have all these systems, they are never all used at the same time, and, as the power sector’s COVID-19 mitigation strategies showed, resilience planning matters across operations. Depending on the stage of the flight, different power sources will be used, sometimes in conjunction with others, to supply the required power.
On the ground
When we arrive at the aircraft, more often than not the aircraft is plugged into the external power with the APU off. Electricity is the blood of the 787 and it doesn’t like to be without a good supply constantly pumping through its system, and, as seen in NYC electric rhythms during COVID-19, demand patterns can shift quickly. Ground staff will connect two forward external power sources, as this enables us to operate the maximum number of systems as we prepare the aircraft for departure.
Whilst connected to the external source, there is not enough power to run the air conditioning system. As a result, whilst the APU is off, air conditioning is provided by Preconditioned Air (PCA) units on the ground. These connect to the aircraft by a pipe and pump cool air into the cabin to keep the temperature at a comfortable level.
APU start
As we near departure time, we need to start making some changes to the configuration of the electrical system. Before we can push back , the external power needs to be disconnected — the airports don’t take too kindly to us taking their cables with us — and since that supply ultimately comes from the grid, projects like the Bruce Power upgrade increase available capacity during peaks, but we need to generate our own power before we start the engines so to do this, we use the APU.
The APU, like any engine, takes a little time to start up, around 90 seconds or so. If you remember from before, the external power only supplies 115Vac whereas the two VFSGs in the APU each provide 235Vac. As a result, as soon as the APU is running, it automatically takes over the running of the electrical systems. The ground staff are then clear to disconnect the ground power.
If you read my article on how the 787 is pressurised, you’ll know that it’s powered by the electrical system. As soon as the APU is supplying the electricity, there is enough power to run the aircraft air conditioning. The PCA can then be removed.
Engine start
Once all doors and hatches are closed, external cables and pipes have been removed and the APU is running, we’re ready to push back from the gate and start our engines. Both engines are normally started at the same time, unless the outside air temperature is below 5°C.
On other aircraft types, the engines require high pressure air from the APU to turn the starter in the engine. This requires a lot of power from the APU and is also quite noisy. On the 787, the engine start is entirely electrical.
Power is drawn from the APU and feeds the VFSGs in the engines. If you remember from earlier, these fist act as starter motors. The starter motor starts the turn the turbines in the middle of the engine. These in turn start to turn the forward stages of the engine. Once there is enough airflow through the engine, and the fuel is igniting, there is enough energy to continue running itself.
After start
Once the engine is running, the VFSGs stop acting as starter motors and revert to acting as generators. As these generators are the preferred power source, they automatically take over the running of the electrical systems from the APU, which can then be switched off. The aircraft is now in the desired configuration for flight, with the 4 VFSGs in both engines providing all the power the aircraft needs.
As the aircraft moves away towards the runway, another electrically powered system is used — the brakes. On other aircraft types, the brakes are powered by the hydraulics system. This requires extra pipe work and the associated weight that goes with that. Hydraulically powered brake units can also be time consuming to replace.
By having electric brakes, the 787 is able to reduce the weight of the hydraulics system and it also makes it easier to change brake units. “Plug in and play” brakes are far quicker to change, keeping maintenance costs down and reducing flight delays.
In-flight
Another system which is powered electrically on the 787 is the anti-ice system. As aircraft fly though clouds in cold temperatures, ice can build up along the leading edge of the wing. As this reduces the efficiency of the the wing, we need to get rid of this.
Other aircraft types use hot air from the engines to melt it. On the 787, we have electrically powered pads along the leading edge which heat up to melt the ice.
Not only does this keep more power in the engines, but it also reduces the drag created as the hot air leaves the structure of the wing. A double win for fuel savings.
Once on the ground at the destination, it’s time to start thinking about the electrical configuration again. As we make our way to the gate, we start the APU in preparation for the engine shut down. However, because the engine generators have a high priority than the APU generators, the APU does not automatically take over. Instead, an indication on the EICAS shows APU RUNNING, to inform us that the APU is ready to take the electrical load.
Shutdown
With the park brake set, it’s time to shut the engines down. A final check that the APU is indeed running is made before moving the engine control switches to shut off. Plunging the cabin into darkness isn’t a smooth move. As the engines are shut down, the APU automatically takes over the power supply for the aircraft. Once the ground staff have connected the external power, we then have the option to also shut down the APU.
However, before doing this, we consider the cabin environment. If there is no PCA available and it’s hot outside, without the APU the cabin temperature will rise pretty quickly. In situations like this we’ll wait until all the passengers are off the aircraft until we shut down the APU.
Once on external power, the full flight cycle is complete. The aircraft can now be cleaned and catered, ready for the next crew to take over.
Bottom line
Electricity is a fundamental part of operating the 787. Even when there are no passengers on board, some power is required to keep the systems running, ready for the arrival of the next crew. As we prepare the aircraft for departure and start the engines, various methods of powering the aircraft are used.
The aircraft has six electrical generators, of which only four are used in normal flights. Should one fail, there are back-ups available. Should these back-ups fail, there are back-ups for the back-ups in the form of the battery. Should this back-up fail, there is yet another layer of contingency in the form of the RAT. A highly unlikely event.
The 787 was built around improving efficiency and lowering carbon emissions whilst ensuring unrivalled levels safety, and, in the wider energy landscape, perspectives like nuclear beyond electricity highlight complementary paths to decarbonization — a mission it’s able to achieve on hundreds of flights every single day.
California Wildfire Power Shut-Offs escalate as PG&E imposes blackouts amid high winds, Getty and Kincade fires, mass evacuations, Sonoma County threats, and a state of emergency, drawing regulatory scrutiny over grid safety and outage scope.
Key Points
Planned utility outages to curb wildfire risk during extreme winds, prompting evacuations and regulatory scrutiny.
✅ PG&E preemptive blackouts under regulator inquiry
✅ Getty and Kincade fires drive mass evacuations
✅ Sonoma County under threat amid high winds
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) already faces an investigation by regulators after cutting supplies to 970,000 homes and businesses amid California blackouts that raised concerns.
It announced that another 650,000 properties would face precautionary shut-offs.
Wildfires fanned by the strong winds are raging in two parts of the state.
Thousands of residents near the wealthy Brentwood neighbourhood of Los Angeles have been told to evacuate because of a wildfire that began early on Monday.
Further north in Sonoma County, a larger fire has forced 180,000 people from their homes.
California's governor has declared a state-wide emergency.
What about the power cuts?
On Monday regulators announced a formal inquiry into whether energy utilities broke rules by pre-emptively cutting power to an estimated 2.5 million people, amid a blackouts policy debate that intensified, as wildfire risks soared.
They did not name any utilities but analysts said PG&E was responsible for the bulk of the "public safety power shut-offs", and later faced a Camp Fire guilty plea that underscored its liabilities.
The company filed for bankruptcy in January after facing hundreds of lawsuits from victims of wildfires in 2017 and 2018.
Of the 970,000 properties hit by the most recent cuts, under half had their services back by Monday, and some sought help through wildfire assistance programs, the Associated Press reported.
Despite criticism that the precautionary blackouts were too widespread and too disruptive, PG&E said more would come on Tuesday and Wednesday because further strong winds were expected.
The company said it had logged more than 20 preliminary reports of damage to its network from the most recent windstorm.
In a video posted to Twitter on Saturday, Governor Gavin Newsom said the power cuts were "infuriating everyone, and rightfully so".
Where are the fires now?
In Los Angeles, the Getty Fire has burned over 600 acres (242 ha) and about 10,000 buildings are in the mandatory evacuation zone.
At least eight homes have been destroyed and five others damaged.
"If you are in an evacuation zone, don't screw around," Mr Schwarzenegger tweeted. "Get out."
LA fire chief Ralph Terrazas said fire crews had been "overwhelmed" by the scale of the fires.
"They had to make some tough decisions on which houses they were able to protect," he said.
"Many times it depends on where the ember lands. I saw homes that were adjacent to homes that were totally destroyed, without any damage."
In northern California, schools remain closed in Sonoma County, where tens of thousands of homes and businesses are under threat.
Sonoma has been ravaged by the Kincade Fire, which started on Wednesday and has burned through 50,000 acres of land, fanned by the winds.
The Kincade Fire began seven minutes after a nearby power line was damaged, and power lines may have started fires according to reports, but PG&E has not yet confirmed if the power glitch started the blaze.
About 180,000 people have been ordered to evacuate, with roads around Santa Rosa north of San Francisco packed with cars as people tried to flee.
There are fears the flames could cross the 101 highway and enter areas that have not seen wildfires since the 1940s.
Amazon Renewable Energy Projects advance net zero goals with a Scotland wind farm PPA and US solar farms in North Carolina and Virginia, delivering clean power, added capacity, and lower carbon emissions across cloud operations.
Key Points
Amazon initiatives adding wind and solar capacity in the UK and US to cut carbon and power cloud operations.
✅ Largest UK corporate wind PPA on Scotland Kintyre Peninsula
✅ Two US solar farms in North Carolina and Virginia
✅ 265 MW added capacity, 668,997 MWh clean power annually
Amazon is launching three renewable energy projects in the United States and the United Kingdom that support Amazon’s commitment to using net zero carbon energy by 2040.
The U.K. project is a wind farm on the Kintyre Peninsula in Scotland, aligned with a 10 GW renewables contract boosting the U.K. grid. It will generate 168,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of clean energy each year, enough to power 46,000 U.K. homes. It will be the largest corporate wind power purchase agreement (PPA) in the U.K.
Offshore wind energy in the UK is powering up rapidly, complementing onshore developments.
The other two are solar projects – one in Warren County, N.C, and the other in Prince George County, Va, reflecting broader US solar and wind growth trends nationwide. Together, they are expected to generate 500,997 MWh of energy annually. It is Amazon’s second renewable energy project in North Carolina, following the Amazon Wind Farm US East operated by Avangrid Renewables, and eighth in Virginia.
The three new Amazon wind and solar projects – which are expected to be in operation in 2012 — will provide 265 MW of additional renewable capacity, and align with U.K. wind power lessons for the U.S. market nationwide.
“In addition to the environmental benefits inherently associated with running applications in the cloud, Amazon is committed to minimizing our carbon emissions and reaching 80% renewable energy use across the company by 2024. We’ve announced eight projects this year and have more projects on the horizon – and we’re committed to investing in renewable energy as a critical step toward addressing our carbon footprint globally,” Kara Hurst, director of sustainability at Amazon, said. “With nearly 70 renewable energy projects around the globe – including 54 solar rooftops – we are making significant progress towards reaching Amazon’s company-wide commitment to reach 100% renewable energy by 2030.”
Amazon has launched 18 utility-scale wind and solar renewable energy projects to date, and in parallel, Duke Energy Renewables has acquired three California solar projects, underscoring sector momentum. They will generate over 1,600 MW of renewable capacity and deliver more than 4.6 million MWh of clean energy annually. Amazon has also installed more than 50 solar rooftops on fulfillment centers and sort centers around the world. They generate 98 MW of renewable capacity and deliver 130,000 MWh of clean energy annually.
“Today’s announcement by Amazon is another important step for North Carolina’s clean energy plan that will increase our reliance on renewables and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said. “Not only is this the right thing to do for our planet, it’s the right thing to do for our economy. More clean energy jobs means better jobs for North Carolina families.”
Amazon reports on its sustainability commitments, initiatives, and performance on a new web site the company recently launched. It includes information on Amazon’s carbon footprint and other metrics and updates the company’s progress towards reaching The Climate Pledge.
“It’s wonderful to see the announcement of these new projects, helping bring more clean energy to the Commonwealth of Virginia where Amazon is already recognized as a leader in bringing renewable energy projects online,” Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said. “These solar farms help reaffirm the Commonwealth’s role as a leading producer of clean energy in the U.S., helping take the nation forward in responding to climate change.”
France-Germany Energy Solidarity underscores EU energy crisis cooperation: gas supply swaps, electricity imports, price cap talks, and curbs on speculation as Russian pipeline flows halt and winter demand rises across the bloc.
Key Points
A pact where France sends gas to Germany as Germany supplies power, bolstering EU cooperation and winter security.
✅ Gas to Germany; power to France amid nuclear outages.
✅ EU price cap, anti-speculation, joint gas purchasing.
✅ No new Spain-France pipeline unless case improves.
France will send gas to Germany if needed while Germany stands ready to provide it with electricity, President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday, saying this showcased European solidarity in the face of the energy crisis stemming from the war in Ukraine, which many view as a wake-up call to ditch fossil fuels across the bloc.
European gas prices surged, share prices slid and the euro sank on Monday after Russia stopped pumping gas via a major supply route, and Germany's 200 billion euro package sought to cushion the blow, in another warning to the 27-nation EU as it scrambled to respond to the crisis ahead of winter. read more
"Germany needs our gas and we need power from the rest of Europe, notably Germany," France's president told a news conference as EU electricity reform remains under debate following a phone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The necessary connections for France to deliver gas to Germany when needed would be finalised in the coming weeks, he said, adding that France, which had long been a net exporter of electricity, will need help from its neighbours because of technical problems its nuclear plants face. read more
Macron, however, said that he did not understand demand for a third gas link between France and Spain, rejecting calls to increase capacity with a new pipeline.
He added he was open to changing his mind on that point, especially as Germany's utility troubles deepen, should Scholz or Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez argue convincingly for it.
Ahead of a meeting on Friday of EU energy ministers, Macron said France was in favour of buying gas at a European rather than a national level, as emergency electricity measures are weighed, and called for European Union measures to control energy prices.
He said it was necessary to act against speculation on energy prices at EU level, as the EU outlines possible gas price cap strategies for discussion, and also said France was in favour of putting a cap on the price of pipeline Russian gas.
Macron also repeated calls for all to turn down air conditioners when it's hot and to limit heating to 19 degrees Celsius this winter, noting that rolling back electricity prices is tougher than it appears this year.
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