Sharjah 24 – AFP: The European Union is preparing to take emergency action to reform the electricity market and get a grip on energy prices that have soared since Russia invaded Ukraine, senior officials said Monday.

Energy ministers from EU member states will hold urgent talks in Brussels on September 9.

High gas prices have been followed by disruptions in the nuclear and hydroelectric sectors amid a heatwave blamed on climate change -- threatening businesses and households with massive bills.

"The skyrocketing electricity prices are now exposing the limitations of our current electricity market design," EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told a forum in Bled, Slovenia.

"It was developed for different circumstances. That's why we are now working on an emergency intervention and a structural reform of the electricity market."

The European Commission has yet to publish a detailed plan for market reform, but some member states have been pushing for a temporary cap on wholesale gas prices.

EU officials are also considering measures to split electricity price setting from the gas price and take into account other energy sources.

Some member states have launched price reduction measures of their own, but Brussels believes EU capitals working together will be more effective.

The move comes as the 27-nation bloc is trying to shed dependence on supplies of Russian oil and gas following Moscow's assault on Ukraine.

Reduced supplies and anxiety over the future have sparked rocket growth in energy prices across Europe.