{"id":447571,"date":"2026-03-13T13:05:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T12:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2026\/03\/13\/iran-raddoppiati-nellue-i-costi-di-produzione-di-energia-elettrica-da-gas\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T12:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T11:00:12","slug":"iran-conflict-gas%e2%80%91fired-power-generation-costs-have-doubled-in-the-eu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/03\/13\/iran-conflict-gas%e2%80%91fired-power-generation-costs-have-doubled-in-the-eu\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran conflict: gas\u2011fired power generation costs have doubled in the EU"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels \u2013 Since the start of the US and Israeli attack on Iran, the surge in gas prices has led to a doubling of the cost of gas-fired electricity across Europe<\/strong> and an estimated additional cost to Europeans of 2.5 billion euros for fossil fuel imports in the first 10 days of the conflict alone<\/strong>. This is reported by an analysis<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0the independent, non-profit think tank Ember<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0“The cost of gas-fired power across Europe has increased by more than 50 per cent due to the gas price spike since February 28,” according to a statement. This increase affects electricity costs, “adds twice as much to electricity costs as the cost of carbon due to the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS),” as “current gas prices, the carbon cost constitutes at most around 10 per cent of the final EU household electricity bill, less than the average rate of VAT (18 per cent).” In this context, the countries least exposed to price rises are those that rely least on gas for electricity. For example, Spain<\/strong> \u2013 which has achieved a structural decoupling between gas and energy prices in its market, thanks to the rapid growth of wind and solar power since 2019 \u2013 where gas has influenced the price of electricity in only 15 per cent of hours so far in 2026, compared to 89 per cent in Italy<\/strong>, and where average electricity prices “remain below the cost of gas-fired power, and lower than other EU countries with large gas power fleets.” According to the think tank, although \u201cit is too early to conclusively assess what impact this latest gas price spike will
\nhave on electricity prices, there are some early signs of impact. Price volatility increased in March, especially in the highly interconnected markets of central and western Europe, driven by price spikes in the gas-heavy early morning and evening hours. In the first week of March, power prices rose to their highest levels of the year in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Belgium. Less gas-reliant countries such as Spain, Portugal, France, and the Nordics appear less impacted.”<\/p>\n

To quantify the financial burden on citizens, Ember estimates that in the first 10 days of the conflict, the EU spent an additional 2.5 billion euros on fossil fuel imports. Overall, “the EU\u2019s total fossil import bill rose from 313 billion euros in 2021 to 693 billion euros in 2022, falling back to 376 billion euros in 2024.\u201d and \u201cin total, inflated prices due to the previous crisis added almost 1 trillion euros to the EU\u2019s fossil import costs.\u201d Now, \u201cIn the first ten days of the current crisis, the rise in fossil fuel prices will have already cost Europeans an estimated 2.5 billion euros<\/strong> (compared to the cost at pre-conflict price levels),\u201d the survey specifies. Even in this context, \u201csome EU countries are more exposed\u201d than others, but \u201call European consumers will feel the impact of the fossil price spike in some way<\/strong>,\u201d whether for the cost of gas for heating or diesel for transport, or rising food prices due to the increased cost of fossil fuel-based fertilisers. Furthermore, \u201cmost countries will be burdened by an increase in electricity prices \u2013 particularly those lagging behind in deploying renewables and clean flexibility, which reduces the influence of gas on electricity prices.\u201d<\/p>\n