Energy prices surge in Europe; PM Mickoski assures "There will be a stable winter"

Energy costs are climbing again: wholesale electricity on some European exchanges has spiked to levels as high as 200 euros per megawatt-hour, while European natural gas "surpassed $79 per megawatt-hour", a peak not seen since the end of 2022. Markets blame a fresh wave of geopolitical tensions that have tightened supplies and pushed prices higher.

Supply worries, market swings and domestic calm

Analysts point to disruptions in global supply routes and a renewed risk premium on LNG cargoes as the immediate drivers of the rally in both gas and power markets. The recent price moves have sent buyers into aggressive bidding and narrowed the usual summer-to-winter price gap, complicating the normal storage cycle.

At home, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski sought to reassure citizens. Responding to journalists, he said, "Ќе имаме стабилна зима" and announced that the Government is preparing a new methodology intended to keep the retail electricity price unchanged — and, where possible, to reduce it.

Across Europe the preparation season has been bumpy: gas inventories that are normally replenished during the summer refilling window are only partly full, leaving less buffer ahead of the heating season and adding to market anxiety.

The region’s energy system also felt the effect of this summer’s extreme weather. High temperatures and drought forced output cuts at some thermal and hydropower plants, reducing local generation and at times lifting spot electricity prices above the 200-euro mark.

Whether the current episode becomes a brief price shock or the start of a prolonged energy squeeze will depend on how long geopolitical tensions persist and how quickly markets and supply chains adjust — and on the resilience and reserves North Macedonia has available to blunt another external shock.

Photo: press material from the event