After the Russian attack on Ukraine, electricity and gas customers in Germany should be protected from a financial shock by government price caps. The regulation is now being extended.
The state caps on gas and electricity prices will remain in place beyond the turn of the year. The Bundestag decided late in the evening to extend the regulation, which expires at the end of the year, until March 31, 2024.
However, the MPs rejected the originally planned extension until the end of April. The signals from the EU Commission, which must give its approval to the project, only allow an extension until the end of March, according to the recommendation for a resolution from the Energy Committee of the Bundestag.
The price caps for electricity and gas were introduced in March of this year and were granted retroactively for January and February. This should protect consumers in Germany from being financially overwhelmed by skyrocketing energy prices as a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine. The prices were capped for a large part of the consumption of private households – for electricity at 40 cents and for gas at 12 cents per kilowatt hour.
The relief for consumers will probably only be slight
The situation on the energy markets has now stabilized, but the continuation of the price caps is “insurance against unexpected risks,” says the regulation from Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens).
However, according to calculations by comparison portals, the relief for consumers is likely to be very small. Verivox assumes that electricity costs will fall by an average of 0.3 percent and gas spending by 1.4 percent. Check24 also expects electricity customers in a model household to only save 13 euros. The experts estimate savings of 45 euros for gas customers.
The Association of Municipal Companies (VKU) and the Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industry (BDEW) also criticize the fact that the extension of the price caps was only decided a month and a half before the turn of the year. “A smooth and timely implementation of the price brake extension by the energy suppliers on January 1, 2024 cannot therefore be guaranteed,” it said in a joint statement. Due to foreseeable delays in billing, we ask electricity and gas customers for their understanding.
Source: Stern
