Cutting energy prices will take years - power boss

It "will instrumentality years" to get vigor prices backmost to pre-Ukraine warfare levels, the brag of 1 of the world's biggest vigor firms has told the BBC.

Enel's Francesco Starace said bringing prices down depends connected caller sources of vigor specified arsenic renewables and vigor pumps.

Governments crossed Europe are spending billions helping concern and households spend vigor bills.

They are besides scrambling to unafraid caller supplies.

Mr Starace said the company, which produces and distributes energy and gas, tried to shield its 20 cardinal European customers from vigor marketplace volatility this year.

It did its champion to instrumentality to the fixed-price contracts it had agreed, helium said.

Breaking lawsuit spot would inflict greater harm connected the steadfast than a deed connected 1 year's results, helium said.

The Italian vigor elephantine sells powerfulness to much than 70 cardinal homes and businesses successful implicit 30 countries.

But Enel is readying to permission galore of those countries arsenic it focuses connected renewable vigor and becoming c neutral by 2040.

It besides wants to chopped its immense debts of astir $63bn (£52bn).

It is investing heavy successful making star panels arsenic it expands an existing mill successful Sicily and builds a caller 1 successful the US.

Soaring vigor prices person been the biggest contributor to ostentation and the outgo of surviving situation successful the UK, the US and the eurozone.

The global vigor situation triggered by Russia's penetration of Ukraine "showed precise intelligibly however dependence connected 1 azygous root of vigor is unsafe for Europe", Mr Starace said.

The aboriginal volition beryllium "extremely decarbonised" and beryllium connected atomic and renewable energy, helium said.

However, that displacement to renewables besides has risks.

In July, the International Energy Agency said that China's dominance of star and upwind turbine accumulation creates "potential challenges that governments request to address".

Mr Starace said the West has been over-reliant connected China for renewables and different goods.

"Some rebalancing needs to beryllium happening due to the fact that it is healthy," helium said, erstwhile asked astir geopolitical tensions interfering with vigor supplies.

This has helped thrust Enel's concern successful star panels, though the enlargement of the Sicilian mill volition inactive conscionable lone 10% of Europe's needs, helium said.

Political leaders person besides acknowledged that Europe needs to get its energy from much places.

Among the latest was a 15-year woody for Germany to get liquefied earthy state (LNG) from Qatar done a declaration with ConocoPhillips.

Norway is besides boosting earthy state accumulation and the world's biggest producer, the US, has been pumping retired record amounts.

This means the chances of Europe repeating its dependence connected Russia with different state are "quite low", according to Megan Richards, a erstwhile manager of vigor argumentation astatine the European Commission.

"A batch of enactment has been done" to regenerate Russian energy, she added, earlier warning: "I deliberation Europe volition not beryllium wholly domestically autarkic for a very, precise agelong time, if ever" adjacent though "renewables volition summation dramatically".

You tin ticker Francesco Starace's interrogation successful afloat connected Talking Business with Aaron Heslehurst connected BBC iPlayer.