WARSAW — US Energy Secretary
Jennifer Granholm on
Wednesday warned against "manipulation" of gas prices in Europe, as a
group of European lawmakers accused Russia of being behind price rises.
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"The US has been clear that we and our partners have to
be prepared to continue to stand up when there are players who may be
manipulating supply in order to benefit themselves," Granholm said in an
online briefing during a visit to Warsaw.
"We want to all have our eye on the issue of any
manipulation of gas prices by hoarding or the failure to produce adequate
supply," she told reporters.
"We are looking at this very seriously and we are
united with our European allies in making sure you get adequate, affordable gas
supply this winter," she added.
The looming energy crisis facing Europe overshadowed a
meeting of EU ministers on Wednesday, with participants describing the
situation — being felt globally — as "critical".
The continent faces soaring power prices as its economy
recovers from the
COVID pandemic and as winter approaches while natural gas
reserves are at a worrying low level.
A profound EU transformation towards a low-carbon future,
phasing out fossil fuels, is adding to the pressure on the bloc's market and
households.
A group of more than 40 members of the
European Parliament
has written a letter accusing Russia's Gazprom of manipulating gas prices.
They see a diminishing flow of Russian gas through
Ukraineas an attempt by Moscow to force Germany to approve activation of a newly
completed gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea, Nord Stream 2. Gazprom denies
the accusation.
While the EU is struggling, the situation is far worse in
former EU member Britain, where wholesale energy prices are outstripping even
those soaring in the rest of Europe.
The US is also seeing an increase in
energy prices but is
largely shielded because of gas production from its shale fields.
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