France and Germany prepare for winter energy crisis

France is less reliant than some neighbours on gas imports from Russia, which account for about 17% of its gas consumption.

French bosses are prepared to make efforts to meet a government demand to cut energy consumption by around 10% to avoid rationing amid soaring prices and fears of power shortages as the war in Ukraine grinds on, their chief said on Monday.

"We are looking at it, it is not impossible. It is a significant effort but absolutely necessary because we want to avoid rationing that stops production," Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux told France Inter radio.

The Medef, France's main employer association, holds its annual post summer conference on Monday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivering the opening address.

He will be followed by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, who is expected to urge businesses to step up their efforts to save energy as power prices which, shaken by the war abroad and nuclear production problems at home, reached new record highs at over ten times their pre-crisis level.

France is less reliant than some neighbours on gas imports from Russia, which account for about 17% of its gas consumption. But concerns about supply from Russia nevertheless remain.

Price hikes

Meanwhile, Germany's ruling Social Democrats (SPD) will propose further measures to help its citizens cope with rising energy prices, including another discounted national transport ticket, a document seen by Reuters showed on Sunday.

Households are facing higher energy costs after the German gas market operator set a levy from October to help utilities cover the cost of replacing Russian supplies.

With energy prices rising following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the government has already introduced two relief packages this year, including a €9 ($8.96) transport ticket allowing travel anywhere in Germany that expires on Aug. 31.

A third relief package would include a similar ticket but with a less heavily discounted price tag of €49 per month, according to a draft proposal, which the Sueddeutsche Zeiting was first to report on.

• Reuters