German consumers must prepare for dramatic price increases if the European Union bans Russian gas, E.ON Germany Utility Group CEO Filip Thon said on Tuesday, adding that prices are already rising rapidly and without such a measure, according to Reuters.

In an interview with the German news agency RND, Filip Thon warned that the utility company is facing 20 times higher gas and eight times higher electricity prices this spring compared to a year ago. By how much prices will rise in the event of a Russian gas embargo depends on the extent to which Germany will increase its reserves, which are currently at about 25% -27% of capacity, before the next cold season, Thon said.

“The situation is very tense, even without stopping deliveries,” Filip Thon told RND, adding that stopping Russian gas imports would have “dramatic consequences for the German economy.”

The head of E.ON asked the state to provide additional financial support for private households to limit the impact of the blow, for example by reducing taxes on energy bills, according to Agerpres.

After several years of prospering from energy imports from Russia, Germany is now shaken by a debate over how business relations between the two countries should be reduced, which critics say has helped Russia finance its invasion of Ukraine. Russia supplies about 40% of Europe’s gas needs.

The German Finance Minister on Monday rejected the idea of an EU embargo on gas imports from Russia, even though the increase in the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine increases the pressure on the EU bloc to impose sanctions on Russia’s energy sector.