Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has called on the European Union to decouple electricity prices from those of gas to keep them from rising further due to ripple effects from the Ukraine war.
"Electricity prices must go down," he said in a statement.
"We can't let (Russian President Vladimir) Putin decide every day" about the price of energy, Mr Nehammer said.
"We have to stop this madness that is happening right now on energy markets," he said, adding that he would raise the issue at an emergency meeting the bloc is due to hold on the issue.
"The subject (of decoupling) will be on the agenda," he said, adding that he had already discussed it with the leaders of Germany and the Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.
European electricity prices soared to new records this week, presaging a bitter winter as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Russian cuts of gas deliveries to Europe inflict economic pain across the continent.
Austria is heavily dependent on Russian gas particularly in industry and heating, obtaining about 80% of its supply from Russia before the war.
Most of its electricity, however, comes from renewables and there is growing incomprehension among the Austrian public at the market system where gas and power prices are closely linked.
"Something has to happen at last," Mr Nehammer said.
"This market will not regulate itself in its current form. I call on all the EU 27 (member states) to stand together to stop this price explosion immediately."
On Friday, the year-ahead contract for German electricity reached €995 per megawatt hours while the French equivalent surged past €1,100 - a more than tenfold increase in both countries from last year.
