Spain to Cap Windfall Profits as Electricity Prices Surge (1)

Spain will limit windfall profits for power utilities in an attempt to curtail the impact of record-high prices as Europe faces an energy crunch.

“There are power companies that are currently recording extraordinary profits, and I don’t think that that is acceptable given that they are profits that come from the performance of prices in international markets,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in an interview Monday night with state-owned television broadcaster RTVE.

A global shortage of natural gas has pushed the region’s fuel, electricity and carbon prices higher than they’ve ever been. Spain is particularly vulnerable, because a big chunk ...