Currently, the most expensive form of generation -- gas -- sets the price for all electricity that’s sold into the market. That means consumers are bearing the brunt of Russia’s supply cuts to the continent. It also means Europe isn’t feeling much of the benefit of low-cost renewables like wind farms, which get to sell at big margins.

Dutch front-month gas, Europe’s benchmark, traded 2.4% higher at €119 per megawatt-hour by 8:43 a.m. in Amsterdam after losing 5.8% a day earlier.

Europe’s gas storage sites are nearly 95% full, providing a buffer for when the weather turns colder. Reserves in the biggest gas consumer, Germany, have risen to 99%, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.

The recent fall in European gas prices may not last, according to Italian energy major Eni SpA. “It’s a temporary situation,” Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi said in Abu Dhabi. “We have problems in 2023 because in 2023 we don’t have Russian gas.”

The push to fill storage facilities before the start of winter has been successful -- with many close to capacity. But some suppliers may now want to hold back those reserves until they can sell their stored gas at more attractive rates.

Benchmark futures declined as much as 12%, and are about 70% lower from the highs of August.

Benchmark futures declined as much as 4.8% on Friday and headed for a third straight weekly loss.

Germany stuck to its refusal to cap gas prices and the 27 could only agree to disagree, declaring they will keep on examining options to put a ceiling on costs.

"If we continue to meet our savings target of at least 20% in Germany, if three LNG terminals start operating at the beginning of next year at the latest, and if the expected winter-related decline in imports and the rise in currently low exports remain moderate, then we can get through the winter without a national gas emergency," he said in a statement.

While Europe lacks transparent data on who owns stored gas, the bulk is held by utilities, including state-owned companies, that will need to withdraw fuel to supply households and manufacturers, according to people familiar with the matter.

The bloc’s eighth round of sanctions state that if a tanker owner transports Russian crude above an agreed price threshold, their ship would be prohibited from getting EU services needed to ship the commodity, such as insurance, “in the future.”

Benchmark futures dropped as much as 10.1% to 115 euros per megawatt-hour, the lowest intraday level since mid-June.

The EU has already asked members to voluntarily reduce gas demand by 15%, and Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson has said a plan is under consideration to make the cut mandatory.

Traders are on edge with Russian President Vladimir Putin saying any energy infrastructure in the world is at risk after the Nord Stream explosions, which he said benefited the US, Ukraine and Poland.

EU energy ministers gathering in Prague on Wednesday will consider that model, which has already been adopted by Spain and Portugal, allowing consumers to avoid the worst of the price surges.