Benchmark futures jumped as much as 12%. The European Commission’s radical intervention plan includes raising 140 billion euros ($140 billion) for consumers from energy companies’ earnings, as also mandatory curb on peak power demand and boosting liquidity.

The plan is expected to raise €140bn, including €117bn from the temporary revenue cap on inframarginal electricity producers and €25bn from the temporary solidarity contribution based on taxable surplus profits made in the fiscal year 2022 on energy undertakings in the oil, gas, coal and refinery sectors

The risks of shortages drove gas prices higher for a third day. The European Commission this week unveiled radical intervention plan including raising 140 billion euros ($140 billion) for consumers from energy companies’ earnings, mandatory curb on peak power demand and boosting liquidity.

The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA) issued the licence for construction of units 5&6 of Paks II in August. Currently, the Paks NPP, built according to the Soviet design, operates four power units with VVER-440 reactors.

Benchmark futures rose as much as 6.9%, a day after closing 4.2% higher. Authorities are designing measures designed to rein in an unprecedented energy crisis that has fueled inflation, hurt industry and left nations on the brink of a recession.

So far, in 2022, spot electricity prices are five to ten times higher than in previous years. On August 22, the daily spot market price for Germany exceeded 600 EUR/MWh, 15 times the average of the 2010s.

The developed nations of Europe and the UK have played into the hands of Russia by closing coal and nuclear generation facilities and becoming dependent on renewables and Russian natural gas, rather than developing their own natural gas reserves.

Germany doesn’t support a price cap on Russia gas because some countries are still dependent on those supplies, Economy Minister Robert Habeck told reporters in Brussels.

Still, gas and electricity prices pared some of their large gains from earlier in the day as traders weighed the intervention plans.

Benchmark energy futures fell after jumping on Monday, with Dutch front-month gas losing as much as 13% and German year-ahead power falling 11%.

Russian flows of gas via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany, remained at zero on Tuesday after Russia scrapped a Saturday deadline to resume flows following maintenance.

Gas prices surged more than 35% on Monday as traders reacted to Russia’s decision to keep its main gas pipeline shut indefinitely.

That should help to make future decision making easier. But it is not going to help keep us warm this winter or indeed even in winter 2024.

The GBP3.3 million funding through the Advanced Modular Reactor Research, Development and Demonstration (AMR RD&D) programme - part of the GBP385 million Advanced Nuclear Fund - will support the development of innovative nuclear technology in the UK, such as high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs).

German year-ahead electricity futures plunged as much as 54% from Monday’s peak above 1,000 euros a megawatt-hour as the European Union considers various measures to intervene in the market to damp runaway energy costs crippling economies across the bloc.