EU leaders to discuss soaring energy prices

FILE PHOTO: High-voltage power lines and electricity pylons pictured near Berlin, November 7, 2006. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Leaders of European Union countries will discuss surging energy prices when they meet next month, as governments scramble to cushion households from the soaring cost of gas and power.

Benchmark European gas prices have rocketed by more than 300% this year due to factors including low storage levels, outages and high demand as economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, dragging up wholesale electricity costs.