EU faces battle to keep energy prices from tanking struggling economy
PBS NewsHourJUL 2022
The Spin
Narrative A
Though experts are still struggling to analyze the impacts of a price cap given the varying schemes and provisions that have yet to be decided, the EU must agree on a cap. The critical problem, however, is that there is a shortage of energy, and time is running out before cold weather sets in. Something needs to be done.
Narrative B
A price cap on gas is expensive, and subsidizing even a slice of Europe's current gas consumption would cost hundreds of billions of euros, which could leave the EU drowning in debt. Another problem is if the EU sets the price cap too low, global suppliers who can afford to sell elsewhere will do so, likely resulting in a bloc-wide shortage.
Metaculus Prediction
There's a 17% chance of a large-scale power outage in the continental Europe synchronous grid before 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
