Energy: Dobrindt calls for a limited “citizen base price” for gas

CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt has called for the introduction of a limited “citizen base price” for gas in order to secure the supply of private households in the looming gas crisis.

With such a base price to be developed by the federal government, a cap will ultimately be set on a basic requirement per household and person, said Dobrindt on Tuesday in Berlin. Such a signal to the public is important because otherwise households would not be able to bear the financial burden of the further exploding gas prices.

Families should be relieved more than single households, Dobrindt demanded. A volume cap could ensure that large consumers would be less relieved than small consumers. “Without this solution, many households will probably no longer be able to pay for the rising gas prices in the coming months,” he said. There must also be a regulation that the gas supply will not be shut down if the gas price can no longer be paid.

Public Gas Company?

The planned measures to support gas companies would not be enough, Dobrindt predicted. Finally, in the next few days, there will be talk about the nationalization of gas companies. “Gas companies will be in public hands, in state hands, because they can no longer survive on their own.” This is a reasonable solution that has also been used in other places in the past in crises.

The federal government wants to create a “protective shield” for ailing energy companies. Legal changes are intended to create the conditions for the federal government to be able to get involved with companies like Uniper. In the Corona crisis, the federal government supported Lufthansa with billions and took a stake in the group.