Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland reject Economics Minister Habeck’s plans to introduce different electricity price zones.
Six federal states are defending themselves against the threat of higher electricity prices due to a lower expansion of wind power. A uniform electricity price zone is a central expression of a uniform German economic area, write the prime ministers of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland in a published joint statement.
“A weakening of the economically strong countries of the south and west cannot be in the interest of the federal government or of the north German states,” the letters say. Saarland Prime Minister Anke Rehlinger (SPD) said: “Our meeting is a loud signal that we are making every effort, even if we don’t have the North Sea for wind turbines.”
In their four-page paper, the representatives of the south-western federal states call for the preservation of a uniform German electricity price zone, a forced expansion of renewable energies and a Germany-wide rapid ramp-up of hydrogen as a future more climate-friendly energy source. They also insist on an accelerated expansion of the electricity transmission networks by the Federal Network Agency, the rapid expansion of gas-fired power plants that can also be operated with hydrogen in the future, better framework conditions for storage, the introduction of cheaper electricity prices for industry and appropriate influence by the federal states on regulatory issues.
From the point of view of Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens), different electricity price zones in Germany are a response to the backlog in the expansion of wind energy in southern Germany. Those who promote the expansion of energy from wind and sun should also have location advantages.
Source: Stern
