Energy Newsletter

European gas prices have more than doubled from €30/MWh (Sept. 2025) to €81/MWh (Sept. 2026); gas storage levels at 71% are below critical levels. The EU and G7 are mobilizing strategic reserves and warning of a "very difficult winter" with threatening supply shortages and price spikes above €100/MWh.

Economics Minister Katherina Reiche, former CEO of EON subsidiary Westenergie, shapes German energy policy and benefits E.ON through grid package regulations; multiple sources document opaque entanglements between government policy and energy company interests. This raises questions about regulatory fairness and market distortion.

Vattenfall completes 980-MW offshore farm Nordlicht I (Germany's largest) and markets 285-MW battery storage portfolio; EnBW has opened 960-MW He-Dreiht without subsidies. Green hydrogen and storage technology are becoming strategic assets in the energy transition toolkit.

Germany's four transmission system operators (50Hertz, Amprion, TenneT, TransnetBW) with ~€50 billion net debt are raising network charges for 2027 to 3.54 ct/kWh; without a €5.5 billion federal subsidy, this would rise to 6.52 ct/kWh. This significantly burdens electricity prices for industry and households.

CDU opposes Minister Reiche's planned throttling of renewable expansion through EEG amendment 2026/2027; critics warn of competitive disadvantage due to highest electricity prices worldwide. Debate over the right balance between decarbonization and competitiveness is escalating politically.