Gas storage across the European Union is about 70% full, 12 percentage points below the level a year ago. At the same time, prices at the Dutch TTF hub have remained above €70 per megawatt-hour for several weeks, at levels comparable to the 2022 energy crisis. In a letter to EU energy ministers, Commissioner Dan Jørgensen described a price crisis linked to a supply crisis.
Jørgensen urged governments to intensify preparations for winter and consider both ways to keep gas injections going and ways to reduce gas and electricity demand. His proposals include limiting temperatures in public buildings, ending outdoor heating, switching off unnecessary exterior lights at night and encouraging households to shift electricity use away from peak hours.
He linked the pressure to tight global liquefied natural gas markets and the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, roughly one-fifth of global seaborne oil and LNG supplies passed through the waterway. A hot, dry summer has added strain to energy systems in several countries.
Prices have been volatile. TTF gas reached €69.4 per megawatt-hour at the end of August, its highest level since early spring, while October futures rose close to €81 on September 9 amid renewed tensions around Iran. In August, the European Commission put storage at 62%; injections were slower than usual and LNG imports fell amid disruptions from the Middle East.
Jørgensen stressed that there is no immediate threat to supply security. He said the EU is better prepared for disruption than in 2021 because LNG import capacity has expanded, renewables have grown and gas demand has fallen. Energy ministers are due to discuss the proposed measures at an informal meeting in Ireland on September 29.
The warning revives measures used during the 2022 crisis, when EU countries agreed to cut gas consumption voluntarily by 15%, imposed a price cap and introduced a windfall tax on energy companies. Jørgensen had already warned in April that Europe could face a prolonged energy shock.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on September 16 that the EU had spent an additional €90 billion on fuel imports since the crisis around Hormuz began, without securing extra energy volumes. She urged Europe to speed up domestic energy development and reduce import dependence.
The EU is also continuing its phased exit from Russian energy: a ban on Russian LNG imports is due to take effect in January 2027, followed by a ban on pipeline gas on September 30, 2027. The Kremlin calls the policy mistaken; spokesman Dmitry Peskov has argued that buying more expensive gas elsewhere harms the European economy and consumers.