Soaring energy prices continue in Europe. In Lithuania and Estonia, businesses are adapting. In Germany and Sweden, the governments take decisions to support the populations.
Electricity is historically expensive, and this spares no country. In Lithuania, the cost per kilowatt hour is increasing every day. So, faced with this surge in prices, some stores are trying to adapt, for example by turning off the lights for an hour. This is the case in Norfa supermarkets, and it is not a “symbolic act“, as explained Dainius Dundulis, chairman of the board of the supermarket chain : “to be frank, we very seriously considered not working at all for an hour when the price of electricity is so high. “
Lithuania unsuccessfully asked the European Union to adjust the market price of electricity, indexing it to inflation, which amounts to more than 20% in the country.
Estonia
The situation is similar in Estonia. Peak hours of electricity consumption are unaffordable for many businesses. Aleksei Voronov, owner of the cafedecided to close his business for an hour: “because we can’t afford to work at that hour. We have to consider the costs. If we work, we spend 375 euros just on electricity in one hour.“
Sweden
In Sweden, the government announced that it would allocate nearly 6 billion euros to compensate businesses and households for high electricity costs.
Germany
Same desire to support the population in Germany, which announced a reduction in the tax on natural gas.
Between the war in Ukraine and a historically hot summer which is increasing the demand for air conditioning, energy sobriety is more important than ever throughout the old continent.
