High energy prices
Scholz does not want to nationalize power grids
New power lines are necessary – that costs a lot of money. IG Metall has proposed that the state takes over the power grids so that the electricity becomes cheaper. Chancellor Scholz is now reacting to it.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) rejects a nationalization of the power grids to reduce electricity costs. “That would overwhelm us,” said the SPD top candidate at a DGB election arena in Potsdam. However, he can imagine the federal government’s participation. He is concerned with “the large four electricity car operators may also be summarized that the state is also willing to participate”. IG Metall had called for a nationalization of the network operators to keep electricity costs low.
“But what we need with the large electricity motorways is a price lid,” said the Chancellor. He had suggested halving the costs for the network fees and introducing a fixed price lid of 3 cents per kilowatt hour. So nobody has to worry if an additional 300 billion euros had to be invested in the power grids.
New division of network charges
Thousands of kilometers of new power lines are necessary so that the wind power – which is produced especially in the north – comes to the large consumption centers in the south. That costs many billions of euros. Increasing network charges burden the end customers because these costs are passed on to the electricity price.
Scholz pointed out that the energy prices in Brandenburg have decreased since the beginning of the year due to a better distribution of the network charges. The power grid expansion in many rural areas is financed from the network charges that all power customers have to pay. So far, this has meant that in regions with strong green electricity expansion, the network charges were higher than in other regions. A new regulation ensures that the additional costs are passed on to all power customers.
dpa
Source: Stern
