The German government will drastically reduce the electricity consumption tax from 2022 to ease the burden on consumers, network operators said.
The fee under the Renewable Energy Sources (EEG) Act, used to finance the expansion of solar and wind power plants, will be reduced by more than 40% to 3,723 cents per kilowatt-hour from January 1, according to a statement from 50Herz Transmission, Amprion, TenneT TSO and TransnetBW.
This is the largest reduction so far since the green levy was introduced in 2000 to help the transition of Europe’s leading economy from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources.
Economy Minister Peter Altmeier said recently that the EEG fee should be completely abolished over the next few years, “in order to maintain the availability of electricity”.
The shortfall will be offset by higher government subsidies, in part due to the carbon tax introduced in early 2021.
Germans already have the highest electricity bills in the European Union, and as winter approaches, pressure is mounting on the government to help alleviate the looming energy price crisis.
In recent months, natural gas prices in Europe have risen as demand has risen as economies emerge from the constraints caused by the pandemic. Stocks were already low after a long and cold previous winter.
Electricity prices on European energy exchanges have stabilized at around 200 euros per megawatt-hour, after reaching record highs of 300 euros per megawatt-hour earlier last week. This is shown by the data on the energylive.cloud platform.
In the “day ahead” segment with delivery on Tuesday (October 12th), the most expensive electricity will be paid in Romania (233.60 euros per megawatt hour), followed by Hungary (228.26 euros per MWh), Italy (218.54 euros) for MWh), Serbia (€ 209.35 per MWh) and Switzerland (€ 208.66 per MWh).
In other European countries, electricity prices are slightly above and below € 200 per MWh, with the lowest electricity price again in Poland (€ 123.06 / MWh), followed by Germany (€ 167.43 per megawatt-hour),
Wholesale natural gas prices, which are the leading indicator of overall energy prices in Europe, have more than tripled this year. Oil and coal prices have also risen, fueling fears of a sharp rise in inflation and a surge in energy bills.
EU leaders will discuss the energy issue at a summit next week.
The European Commission has proposed that Member States temporarily reduce taxes and levies to reduce energy bills for households and businesses.
