Robert Habeck is under pressure. He needs to improve his gas allocation as soon as possible. The coalition partners in particular are putting the pressure on. The minister himself makes a promise.
In view of the growing criticism of the gas levy , politicians from the SPD and FDP are demanding that Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) revise the concept before the government meeting on Tuesday. “Manual mistakes should be eliminated before the cabinet meeting,” said Christian Dürr, leader of the FDP parliamentary group, in the “Bild” newspaper (Monday edition). The gas levy must “under no circumstances lead to extra returns for companies”.
“We have to be careful that state intervention does not make the energy crisis worse,” warned Dürr. “The aim of our measures must be to guarantee the energy supply in autumn and winter.” It is therefore of essential importance “to increase the supply of energy, among other things by extending the service life of nuclear power plants”.
The SPD member of the Bundestag Ralf Stegner told the “Bild” that the cabinet meeting in Meseberg was “the right place and the right time to renegotiate the gas levy”. The currently planned allocation is “unfair: Because it offers corporations that are not in need and have made millions in profits over the years the opportunity for extra profits. At the same time, it exacerbates social hardship for millions of consumers.”
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil had previously accused the Green Federal Minister of Economics of “technical errors” in the construction of the gas surcharge. On Sunday evening in the ZDF program “heute journal” Habeck again promised a revision of the gas surcharge and at the same time fundamentally defended the planned measure to support the energy market.
The gas surcharge is “an uncomfortable step, an uncomfortable decision, but a necessary decision,” said Habeck on ZDF. However, it is “unpleasant” that companies take advantage of them as free riders, so to speak, to also issue invoices, companies that don’t need it at all. “We will solve this problem,” assured Habeck.
The gas surcharge is intended to relieve companies that have to buy expensive gas elsewhere to fulfill their contracts because of restricted deliveries from Russia. This is intended to prevent company bankruptcies and delivery failures. Private households and companies are to pay the surcharge of a good 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour from October, with VAT on gas consumption falling to seven percent.
According to the current regulations, companies that are not in economic difficulties or even make high profits in other business areas would also benefit from the levy.
The gas crisis is also leading to rising prices on the electricity market. Here, too, “a solution is being worked on,” said Habeck on ZDF. However, the underlying principle cannot simply be changed with a snap of the fingers.
The so-called merrit order principle applies to the European electricity market. This means that the electricity price is determined by the most expensive power plant, which is currently gas-fired power plants.
