Union calls on Luxembourg to freeze energy prices

Luxembourg’s consumer union has called on the government to freeze energy prices as bills across Europe soar to record levels amid an unprecedented supply squeeze.

The Union Luxembourgeoise des Consommateurs (ULC) is asking lawmakers to “seriously consider an energy price freeze, as is already the case in some other EU countries”, the group said in a press release on Wednesday.

Luxembourg residents have seen a “drastic” increase in energy bills and low-wage earners should be entitled to government subsidies to help cushion the extra costs, the group said.

Natural gas prices had increased by an average of 61% last month over a one-year-period and fuel prices had risen by 64% over the same year-on-year comparison, and petrol, diesel and gas prices are increasing at unprecedented levels every week, the union said.

The union asked that if lawmakers cannot halt the price increases, they should consider setting a flat rate for a certain amount of natural gas to enable households to get through the winter months.

Homes across Europe can expect to pay on average 54% more than they did two years ago on energy bills, data from Bank of America published last week showed. Countries across the world are facing energy shortages as economies recover from the pandemic and Europe’s renewable energy sources have also struggled, with low wind speeds reducing output.

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