Spain plans 15% cap on gas price rises before winter

Spain plans to limit natural gas price increases to 15 percent as winter approaches, Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen said Tuesday.

Aagesen said the government would also cap the price of butane tanks, used by many households for cooking and heating, at 19.55 euros.

Speaking as she arrived in Dublin for a meeting of European Union energy ministers, Aagesen said household gas prices would rise by more than 45 percent from next month without the cap. She did not specify how much the measures would cost.

Spanish inflation reached 4.9 percent in September from a year earlier. The government had already approved about 80 measures in March to limit the impact of energy costs, at a total cost of five billion euros. It says that package helped 20 million households and three million businesses.