The German state must pay gas bills for December for all households and small and medium-sized businesses under a two-stage cap on energy prices recommended on Monday by a group of government-appointed experts, The Guardian reports, News.ro writes.
Under the scheme, full payment in December next spring will be accompanied by a differentiated subsidy scheme aimed at capping bills but encouraging people to save energy.
From March 2023 to the end of April 2024, private households will pay €0.12 per kilowatt-hour for 80% of last year’s gas consumption. Industry will pay from 1 January 2023 to the end of April 2024 €0.07 per kilowatt-hour for 70% of last year’s usage.
Panel co-chair Dr Veronika Grimm said the subsidized prices would provide a “new normal” that companies and private households could plan for without an artificial return to the low prices before Russia’s war in Ukraine, which reshaped Germany’s energy policy.
“The price will not go down to return to 7 cents in the future. We will not receive Russian gas for a long time,” she said.
Although an exact cost estimate is difficult to establish, the proposed two-stage scheme could cost around 90 billion euros, said Siegfried Russwurm, a panel member and president of the Federation of German Industry.
In late September, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a €200 billion “defense shield” to protect consumers from rising energy prices, but did not elaborate on how it would work.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government could take action recommended by an expert panel of 20 representatives from industry, trade unions and academia.
Instead, there are concerns that the plan could discourage consumers from saving gas. Despite the government’s warning, gas consumption in the first week of October increased compared to last year.
Scholz’s €200 billion support package has sparked controversy among other EU member states, with Poland accusing Germany of “destroying” the EU’s internal market by subsidizing its own businesses while opposing a Europe-wide cap on gas prices.
Source: Hot News RU
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