The head of Greek infrastructure group Aktor said European governments must act now to subsidize electricity and slash gas transit charges, warning that a looming winter energy crisis could otherwise send inflation out of control.
Alexandros Exarchou, Aktor's chief executive, told S&P Global's Platts that governments must go beyond the ordinary because this is a crisis.
"Otherwise, in my opinion, inflation will spiral out of control," he said, urging the European Union to let member states subsidize power prices further.
On gas, he called for deep cuts in the cost of moving imports across borders as global LNG prices soar.
Platts assessed Mediterranean delivered LNG at $27.775 per million British thermal units on Oct. 15, up 173% from a year earlier.
He said an agreement reached earlier this year with the European Commission on Vertical Corridor tariffs, which carry LNG north from Greece, was important but not enough at today's prices.
Mr. Exarchou disputed EU expert assurances that supply is secure, calling Europe's heavy reliance on spot LNG risky.
He dismissed Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen's calls to curb demand, such as lowering public building temperatures, as naive.
Over the longer term, he said European firms should sign more LNG contracts of at least five years with U.S. suppliers, who provided about 60.7% of EU imports in the first nine months of 2026.
He said he doesn't expect the problem to ease within two years.
Aktor's joint venture with Greek gas company DEPA has a 20-year deal for 1 million tons a year from Venture Global from 2030, but Mr. Exarchou said it has not secured extra short-term volumes.
He also announced a deal with Motor Oil for a floating storage and regasification unit at Corinth, with capacity of 4.5 billion cubic meters a year, due in 2031.