BRUSSELS — Electricity will be taxed at a lower rate than fossil fuels across the bloc under a bill that the European Commission is poised to unveil next month, according to two EU officials.

The initiative is part of a wider strategy to power the EU with more electricity from nuclear energy and renewable sources, such as solar panels, wind turbines and hydroelectric dams.

“This is the second fossil fuel crisis in just a few years. We need to scale up homegrown, affordable, reliable energy,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters on Monday, referring to the energy crisis of 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. “Our objective is very clear … shifting electricity generation to renewables and nuclear.”

The EU executive is preparing a range of measures in the coming weeks to cushion the bloc from the economic fallout of the Iran war. Threats of attack from Tehran and of a U.S. blockade have brought cargo vessels carrying oil and gas out of the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz to a standstill. Around 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies come from the region, so the impasse has sent fuel prices skyrocketing.

“Since the beginning of the conflict — 44 days ago — our bill for fossil fuel imports has increased by over €22 billion,” von der Leyen said.

The Commission is scheduled to present a policy communication on April 22 that will outline temporary emergency changes to state aid rules to allow governments to provide financial lifelines to the businesses worst hit by the energy crisis.

The tax initiative would be part of the energy package, expected May 19, alongside an “electrification action plan” containing an ambitious target, the Commission president said.

Giving electricity preferential tax treatment would help reduce the price in the long run and attract further investment for renewables, one of the officials said.

Tax bills require the support of all EU capitals to clear Brussels’ legislative machine, however. The Commission was unable to reduce the tax burden on electricity under the Energy Tax Directive after a handful of countries opposed efforts to levy fuels for planes and ships.

Solidarity tax

Austria, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain have also called on the Commission to propose a temporary tax on the windfall profits that some energy companies are making on the back of the crisis.

“Finding a European solution is the right approach,” the countries’ finance ministers wrote in a letter. “It would make it possible to finance temporary relief, especially for consumers, and curb rising inflation, without placing additional burdens on public budgets.”

Indebted governments, such as Italy, are under particular pressure. They’re struggling to find spare cash in the public purse to cushion the impact of the crisis, which is set to weigh on EU growth and push prices higher — a dreaded economic cocktail called stagflation.

A windfall tax would be easier to introduce under the EU’s emergency rules, which would only require a qualified majority to agree on the temporary measure. But the idea didn’t convince everyone during Monday’s College meeting among commissioners, the officials said, putting the onus on EU leaders to make a political decision when they meet next week.

At the very least, the Commission could share best practises and lessons learned from the last energy crisis in 2022 among EU capitals that want to pursue the solidarity tax.