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The considerable share of natural gas in the aggregated gross available energy clearly indicates the resource’s importance for the energy security of EU states. Natural gas shortages caused by energy crises result in the resource’s price increases in foreign markets. The condition of the global energy system translates directly to the prices of natural gas for households. The main research objectives were the analysis of prices of household natural gas in the EU, and identification of key factors affecting the prices of household natural gas in Poland and their effect on the prices established in domestic tariffs. The secondary data analysis method (desk research) was used in the research. The 2017–2022 data were acquired from Eurostat, the Polish distributor’s (PGNiG SA) tariffs, the Energy Regulatory Office and exchange information. The paper fills a research gap in the disparity of prices of natural gas supplied to final individual recipients in the EU. It was established that the sudden increases in natural gas purchase prices on energy resource exchanges translated into a similarly dynamic increase in the household gas fuel prices. The price data concerning Poland were compared to analogous data from other EU member states. It was established that in the period between the first half of 2021 and the first half of 2022, gas prices in the EU increased by over 34% on average (maximum of 150%). It was concluded that the household natural gas prices in Poland, established in the officially approved distribution tariffs of PGNiG SA, are substantially affected by two factors: energy resource purchase prices on the Polish Power Exchange (TGE), and purchase prices on foreign markets. The main reason for price increases was the unforeseen substantial changes in the conditions of conducting business activity by PGNiG SA in terms of gas fuel trading, resulting from the increase in high-methane natural gas purchase price at the TGE. On the other hand, the increases in purchase price of natural gas imported from EU or EFTA member states by 2021 have moderately translated into increases in prices established in officially approved tariffs. A similar effect of household natural gas price increase has also occurred in other EU member states but was not uniform. The effect depended on the volume of gas production and consumption in the given country, and on the diversity of gas sources that determined the resource’s purchase price.

The considerable share of natural gas in the aggregated gross available energy clearly indicates the resource’s importance for the energy security of EU states. Natural gas shortages caused by energy crises result in the resource’s price increases in foreign markets. The condition of the global energy system translates directly to the prices of natural gas for households. The main research objectives were the analysis of prices of household natural gas in the EU, and identification of key factors affecting the prices of household natural gas in Poland and their effect on the prices established in domestic tariffs. The secondary data analysis method (desk research) was used in the research. The 2017–2022 data were acquired from Eurostat, the Polish distributor’s (PGNiG SA) tariffs, the Energy Regulatory Office and exchange information. The paper fills a research gap in the disparity of prices of natural gas supplied to final individual recipients in the EU. It was established that the sudden increases in natural gas purchase prices on energy resource exchanges translated into a similarly dynamic increase in the household gas fuel prices. The price data concerning Poland were compared to analogous data from other EU member states. It was established that in the period between the first half of 2021 and the first half of 2022, gas prices in the EU increased by over 34% on average (maximum of 150%). It was concluded that the household natural gas prices in Poland, established in the officially approved distribution tariffs of PGNiG SA, are substantially affected by two factors: energy resource purchase prices on the Polish Power Exchange (TGE), and purchase prices on foreign markets. The main reason for price increases was the unforeseen substantial changes in the conditions of conducting business activity by PGNiG SA in terms of gas fuel trading, resulting from the increase in high-methane natural gas purchase price at the TGE. On the other hand, the increases in purchase price of natural gas imported from EU or EFTA member states by 2021 have moderately translated into increases in prices established in officially approved tariffs. A similar effect of household natural gas price increase has also occurred in other EU member states but was not uniform. The effect depended on the volume of gas production and consumption in the given country, and on the diversity of gas sources that determined the resource’s purchase price.

The energy crisis caused first by the COVID-19 pandemic and continued by the Russo-Ukrainian War has demonstrated that energy is a determining factor in the conduct of activities of any state. Several studies have examined the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth, developing various theories, but there is no consensus. This study investigates relationships by analyzing several regression models and choosing the fittest. Then, the verification of its validity is performed through the neural network, which gives greater credibility to the results obtained. Furthermore, using a structural analysis, the investigation is expanded to ranking the impact of sector-specific energy consumption on economic growth. The research includes data from 1995 to 2020 for the European Union (EU) and Romania. The results indicate that short-term energy consumption can have a positive or negative impact on economic growth, both in the EU and Romania. The structural analysis highlights the direct and indirect effects, with different intensities, of sector-specific energy consumption on economic growth. This study is interested primarily in the conditions of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian War, to enable the EU and each member state to take effective energy policy measures to ensure their energy security.

The energy crisis caused first by the COVID-19 pandemic and continued by the Russo-Ukrainian War has demonstrated that energy is a determining factor in the conduct of activities of any state. Several studies have examined the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth, developing various theories, but there is no consensus. This study investigates relationships by analyzing several regression models and choosing the fittest. Then, the verification of its validity is performed through the neural network, which gives greater credibility to the results obtained. Furthermore, using a structural analysis, the investigation is expanded to ranking the impact of sector-specific energy consumption on economic growth. The research includes data from 1995 to 2020 for the European Union (EU) and Romania. The results indicate that short-term energy consumption can have a positive or negative impact on economic growth, both in the EU and Romania. The structural analysis highlights the direct and indirect effects, with different intensities, of sector-specific energy consumption on economic growth. This study is interested primarily in the conditions of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian War, to enable the EU and each member state to take effective energy policy measures to ensure their energy security.

The European Green Deal considers the increase in the share of renewable energy in final energy consumption (REFEC) among the main targets for achieving sustainable EU economies. In this context, the main aim of this paper is to provide an empirical evaluation of the relationship between GDP, global competitiveness index (GCI) and renewable energy consumption. According to panel data models based on the fully modified ordinary least squares method (FMOLS), there is a positive effect of renewable energy consumption progress on GDP and GCI growth, and also a positive influence of economic growth on renewable energy consumption in the period 2007–2019 in the EU countries. The energy consumption is more influenced by economic growth rather than economic competitiveness. Few scenarios were proposed for economic growth and share of renewable sources (RESs) in the final consumption using as forecasting method the proposed panel data models. The cluster analysis suggested two groups of countries according to RES share in gross final energy consumption (GFEC). The first group includes six countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Portugal and Austria) that fixed a target of 30% or more, while the second one refers to countries with lower targets. Some policy recommendations are provided for the EU countries to enhance the utilization of renewable energy.

The European Green Deal considers the increase in the share of renewable energy in final energy consumption (REFEC) among the main targets for achieving sustainable EU economies. In this context, the main aim of this paper is to provide an empirical evaluation of the relationship between GDP, global competitiveness index (GCI) and renewable energy consumption. According to panel data models based on the fully modified ordinary least squares method (FMOLS), there is a positive effect of renewable energy consumption progress on GDP and GCI growth, and also a positive influence of economic growth on renewable energy consumption in the period 2007–2019 in the EU countries. The energy consumption is more influenced by economic growth rather than economic competitiveness. Few scenarios were proposed for economic growth and share of renewable sources (RESs) in the final consumption using as forecasting method the proposed panel data models. The cluster analysis suggested two groups of countries according to RES share in gross final energy consumption (GFEC). The first group includes six countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Portugal and Austria) that fixed a target of 30% or more, while the second one refers to countries with lower targets. Some policy recommendations are provided for the EU countries to enhance the utilization of renewable energy.

This paper analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic growth and electricity consumption and investigates the hypothesis of the influence of this consumption on the gross domestic product (GDP) for Romania. Using time series on monthly electricity consumption and quarterly GDP and a multi-linear regression model, we performed an analysis of the evolution of these indicators for 2007–2020, a comparison between their behavior during the financial crisis vs. COVID-19 crisis, and empirically explore the relationships between GDP and electricity consumption or some of its components. The results of the analysis confirm that the shock of declining activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic had a severe negative impact on electric energy consumption and GDP in the first half of 2020, followed by a slight recovery. By using a linear regression model, long-term relationships between GDP and domestic and non-household electricity consumptions were found. The empirically estimated elasticity coefficients confirm the more important impact of non-household electricity consumption on GDP compared to the one of domestic electricity consumption. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the results of the study could be useful for optimizing energy and economic growth policies at the national and European levels.

This paper analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic growth and electricity consumption and investigates the hypothesis of the influence of this consumption on the gross domestic product (GDP) for Romania. Using time series on monthly electricity consumption and quarterly GDP and a multi-linear regression model, we performed an analysis of the evolution of these indicators for 2007–2020, a comparison between their behavior during the financial crisis vs. COVID-19 crisis, and empirically explore the relationships between GDP and electricity consumption or some of its components. The results of the analysis confirm that the shock of declining activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic had a severe negative impact on electric energy consumption and GDP in the first half of 2020, followed by a slight recovery. By using a linear regression model, long-term relationships between GDP and domestic and non-household electricity consumptions were found. The empirically estimated elasticity coefficients confirm the more important impact of non-household electricity consumption on GDP compared to the one of domestic electricity consumption. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the results of the study could be useful for optimizing energy and economic growth policies at the national and European levels.