EU Commission looks to clobber generators and producers

Executive body puts forward a range of measures but backs away from a gas price cap for now

The European Commission has proposed demand reduction measures, a cap on generator revenues and a windfall tax on oil and gas companies to mitigate the impact of the continent’s looming energy crisis this winter. “These are all emergency and temporary measures we are working on,” says Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Firstly, the Commission is calling for coordinated demand reduction across the bloc and proposes an obligation for member countries to cut “electricity consumption by at least 5pc during selected peak price hours”. It also suggests that member states “aim to reduce overall electricity demand by at least 10pc” until the end of the first quarter next year but has left it