Europe's gas price passes €100 for the first time since 2022 as the EU warns of another energy crisis

Who's saying what

• The European Commission

  Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said: "Once again, due to geopolitical turbulence, Europe faces another energy crisis" and "this winter will be difficult for European citizens and for our economy". He also said: "We are in a better position to tackle this crisis than we were in 2022." He urged governments to speed up renewables, efficiency and heat pumps, and said fossil fuel subsidies must be targeted and temporary.¹³⁴

• EU energy ministers

  Ministers reaffirmed the faster release of 42.6 million barrels from strategic oil reserves, half of it diesel. Irish minister Darragh O'Brien, whose country holds the Council presidency, said the EU must address network charges, infrastructure and electrification. Governments have already cut fuel duties on diesel and petrol.³⁴

• Analysts

  Wood Mackenzie expects prices to stay high until at least autumn 2028, even if the conflict ends. The think tank IEEFA says: "Demand reduction remains the biggest lever within Europe's control."²

What's next

At winter futures prices, a typical gas-heated home using 10,000 kWh from November to March would pay about €715 more including 20% VAT, Euronews calculates, though fixed contracts, regulated tariffs and government support can delay or soften that. Wood Mackenzie expects storage to fall to about 17–20% by the end of March. The EU's ban on Russian liquefied gas starts in January 2027. Prices have eased this month: trade publication Quantum Commodity Intelligence reported they extended an early-month slump on 4 November.²⁵

The full story

Europe is heading into winter with its gas price about three times last winter's level and its storage unusually low. The benchmark passed €100 per megawatt-hour on 28 October for the first time since 2022, after the Iran war cut Qatari shipments, though prices have eased somewhat since. The EU's energy commissioner calls it "another energy crisis" while saying Europe is better placed than in 2022, when the price reached about €340. He says nearly 50 million Europeans cannot adequately heat their homes in a normal year, and that the figure is likely to be higher this year. Governments are discussing further measures.

checked Nov 5, 2026