The NEP remains deeply embedded in Western Canadian memories to this day. As a result of the 1973 Arab oil embargo and 1980 Iraq-Iran war, oil prices jumped from $25 in 1973 to $135 in 1980. Pierre Trudeau’s government wanted to protect consumers from international price hikes so it imposed an oil export tax that would cover subsidies to keep domestic oil prices below the international price.Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the Financial Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
Europe is now facing an energy crisis that will hit consumers and industry hard this winter. The EU’s flawed green policies were causing electricity prices to rise even before Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine. Despite the collapse in energy prices after 2014 the average European household’s electricity price rose by almost half between 2008 and 2021, from €0.16 per kilowatt hour to about €0.23/kwh. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it jumped a further 30 per cent to €0.30/kwh.
Not only have electricity prices risen, so have oil, gas and coal prices, hitting business competitiveness hard. Unable to cover their costs, European producers of aluminum, fertilizer and manufactures are beginning to shut down operations and lay off workers.Article content In response, the EU Commission has laid out proposals for an “emergency intervention to address high energy prices.” Like the NEP, its objective is to “enable a redistribution of resources and financial support to households and businesses to mitigate the effects of sustained high energy prices, reduce energy consumption, support energy intensive industries targeting renewable energy or energy efficiency and develop the Union’s energy autonomy.
Three specific measures are key. The first is a binding target of a five per cent reduction in peak hours to reduce consumption of electricity. The second is a 100 per cent tax on generators’ revenues of more than 180 Euros per MWh , which is expected to yield €117 billion to support lower consumer prices and investment in renewables.