Social democratic Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s proposal to set a possible price cap for electricity took the opposition and her government colleagues by surprise.
Finnish electricity production has been hit with a triple blow. Cold temperatures, seemingly everlasting problems with the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor and calm weather affecting wind energy production have resulted in soaring electricity prices. On Wednesday, the per-kilowatt-hour price on electricity exchange markets was above 60 cents.
On Wednesday, Marin announced she would be staging a cross-party meeting next Monday to discuss the issue of Finnish energy. Her social democratic parliamentary group came out with concrete numbers, suggesting that the price of electricity for households should not exceed 20 cents per kilowatt hour.
The SDP said that lessons could be learned from France, Germany, Estonia and Norway.
In addition to the speediness of the proposal, its price tag was also criticised. Finance Minister Annika Saarikko (Center) referred to the suggestion as ”understandable” but said it would cost ”billions” and have a negative impact on public finances. The government has already earlier lowered the VAT on electricity.
Other government parties also expressed reservations. The Swedish People’s Party called for calm and said price caps could even lead to capacity reductions. Before making final decisions, the Greens and the Left Alliance wished to make it certain that whatever the chosen means would be, they should benefit those most in need.
The Finns party in the opposition rejoiced by commenting that the party has suggested a price cap since the summer.
(Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
