Irish households could be in for a major boost as the EU plan to reduce energy prices as the cost of living crisis continues.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Monday that European officials are considering an "emergency intervention" to tackle soaring energy costs before winter.
She said: "The skyrocketing electricity prices are now exposing the limitations of our current electricity market design. It was developed for different circumstances.
"That's why we are now working on an emergency intervention and a structural reform of the electricity market.
"We need a new market model for electricity that really functions and brings us back into balance."
The news comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine led to soaring gas and electricity prices across Europe, causing the EU to impose sanctions on the region.
Since the beginning of the invasion, Moscow has threatened to cut off gas supplies to Europe, which has led to prices swelling even further.
As Europe's electricity prices are directly linked to the price of gas, Ireland's Midlands North West MEP Colm Markey called on the EU to break the link between gas prices and electricity to drive down household bills.
He said: "At a time when homeowners and businesses face astronomical bills, emergency intervention is needed. The EU must look at price caps and changing the rules to decouple electricity and gas prices altogether."
The price problem has also been compounded by the fear that Europe will face significant outages over the coming year.
System alerts issued by Eirgrid indicate that the margins between generation and demand are tightening.
However, for a large scale blackout to occur, a number of things need to happen. These include a spell of extremely cold weather driving up electricity demand, combined with low wind speeds reducing the capability of wind generation.
If this comes along with technical failures on some of Ireland's larger power generation or transmission assets, it could stretch the grid beyond its current capabilities, leading to major supply disruptions.
Meanwhile, Minister for Environment Eamon Ryan will face questions on Tuesday regarding the Government's preparations for the potential energy shortages over the winter.
TDs and Senators will grill the Green Party leader at the Committee on the Environment, which has been called back early due to potential blackout fears.
The Government said in a statement this evening: "Government coalition members and senior officials met again this evening to discuss the energy security and supply situation caused by Putin’s war on Ukraine.
"The Government is very conscious of the concern of households and businesses around increased energy costs. Over €2.4bn has been provided to help people with cost of living to date and the Government is continuing to assess how best to continue to help people over the coming months."
READ NEXT:
Thousands face energy bill hikes as deadline for meter readings just weeks away
Met Eireann pinpoint best day next week with summer to have one last hurrah
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
