“The Biden administration is trying to stave off a bipartisan push on Capitol Hill to sharpen the enforcement of a proposed cap on the price of Russian oil, aiming to avoid an escalation that officials worry could upset the effort’s delicate diplomatic balancing act,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Treasury and White House officials have been working for months on a plan to set a cap on the sales price of Russian oil around the world. With allies in the Group of Seven wealthy nations, they have designed a plan to limit Russia’s revenue from oil sales while still keeping Russian oil available on global markets. The plan would bar the use of Western financial services for shipping Russian oil if the oil isn’t sold below the cap.”

Wall Street Journal: “Vladimir Putin’s economic campaign to force European governments to abandon support for Ukraine by sharply curbing their natural-gas supplies looks to be faltering as gas prices fall, Russian government finances deteriorate and the continent sets plans to ease the pressure on households and businesses.”

“Russia isn’t yet sure to lose this economic fight. But a growing consensus among officials, energy specialists and economists suggests that, although Russian actions will cause serious hardship in many places, Mr. Putin will likely fail and that Europe should ride out the winter without running out of gas. Once this winter is over, Mr. Putin’s sway over Europe’s energy supplies will have withered critically, they say.”

Wall Street Journal: “European energy ministers are debating plans for an intervention in the continent’s energy markets at an emergency meeting that is aimed at tamping down soaring electricity prices.”

“Diplomats said many countries—including the European Union’s biggest economies, Germany and France—appeared to agree ahead of Friday’s meeting on the idea of imposing a cap on the revenue earned by nuclear, renewable and other nongas producers of electricity, and redistributing the money to businesses and consumers.”

“Other measures under discussion include a plan to cut electricity use during peak demand this winter and a temporary cap on the price of natural gas imported from Russia. Some governments want the price cap extended to other sources of gas.”

Wall Street Journal: “Early forecasts point to mild, dry weather during heating season, which could limit risk of fuel rationing due to Russian supply curbs.”

“Germany will keep two of its three remaining nuclear power plants operational as an emergency reserve for its electricity supply, delaying the country’s plans to become the first industrial power to go nuclear-free for its energy,” the New York Times reports.

“The latest decision is aimed at giving the government more room to cushion the blow of a deepening energy crisis spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to which the European Union has responded with a string of sanctions against Moscow. Soaring energy costs have thrown the bloc into an economic tailspin — especially Germany, Europe’s largest economy.”

“Russia’s gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will not resume in full until the ‘collective west’ lifts sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine,” the Financial Times reports.

“Russia’s Gazprom said its key gas pipeline to Europe won’t reopen as planned, moving the region a step closer to blackouts, rationing and a severe recession,” Bloomberg reports.

“It’s a massive blow to Europe, which is scrambling to cut its dependency on Russian gas before winter and has been waiting for Moscow’s next steps in the energy war. As the continent tries to implement measures to get through the winter, the indefinite closure of the pipeline is an escalation that threatens more economic turmoil.”

“The death of Ravil Maganov, chairman of the Russian oil giant Lukoil, at a hospital in Moscow on Thursday appears to mark the eighth time this year that a Russian energy executive has died suddenly and under unusual circumstances,” CNBC reports.

“Maganov died after falling out of the window of the capital’s Central Clinical Hospital.”

“United Nations atomic-energy inspectors are heading to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant amid fears that fighting in the area has damaged power lines and caused fires at the facility that could lead to nuclear catastrophe,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The inspection will begin on Wednesday and last until Saturday.”

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the world narrowly avoided a radiation accident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear station in Ukraine on Thursday after power was cut to the two remaining working reactors, Reuters reports.