Berlin The previous plan of the traffic light coalition is clear: At the turn of the year 2022/2023, the levy under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) should be completely eliminated. But in view of the skyrocketing electricity prices, the coalition partners are considering abolishing it. The federal government is already discussing this. According to an initial estimate, the volume of the EEG surcharge this year should be around ten billion euros, the Handelsblatt learned from government circles.
The early abolition could be financed by the so-called Energy and Climate Fund (EKF). There is “leeway”, it was said from government circles. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) and the traffic light coalition have just shifted 60 billion euros of unused corona emergency loans from last year to the EKF via a supplementary budget. There they are intended to finance investments in climate protection and the transformation of the economy.
The traffic light had agreed to also finance the abolition of the EEG levy via the EKF – but only at the turn of the year next. Since there is little leeway in the federal budget, an early abolition should also be financed from the climate fund.
“Preferring the complete abolition of the EEG surcharge is a smart step in order to quickly return the current additional state revenue to many companies and consumers, which is why I am promoting it,” said Michael Kruse, energy policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, to the Handelsblatt.
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Christian Dürr, leader of the FDP parliamentary group, said it was right to initiate the first measures as quickly as possible and to abolish the EEG surcharge for electricity customers earlier than planned. “The traffic light partners will discuss this in the next few weeks.” Previously, SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich had brought forward the reform planned for 2023.
“The high tax burden and rising inflation are increasingly becoming a problem for consumers,” Dürr explained the considerations. Mützenich reported on Thursday that the federal government and the coalition factions were talking about granting certain relief earlier because of the high energy prices.
Electricity prices could also be dampened in other ways
There is also sympathy for an earlier move in the Greens group. “It is important to reach those who are facing major problems with electricity price relief,” said Ingrid Nestle, energy and climate policy spokeswoman for the Greens parliamentary group, to the Handelsblatt. However, she qualified that the testing of various instruments is still ongoing.
In principle, other possibilities can also be considered to quickly achieve price-dampening effects for electricity. A reduction in the electricity tax from 2.05 cents per kilowatt hour to the minimum of 0.05 cents under European law is also being considered. A temporary reduction in VAT has also been proposed on a number of occasions. A combination of different options is also conceivable.
In this context, Bernd Westphal, economic policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, warns against taking hasty decisions. “It’s about the entire system of the electricity market design and the taxes, levies, surcharges on energy. The EEG surcharge is to be financed from the federal budget from 2023. That is the current situation,” he told Handelsblatt.
The exploding prices for electricity and gas pose a major challenge for the new federal government. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) recently told the Handelsblatt that one must look at how the electricity and gas market will be set up in the future. The price development is disruptive, you have to help private consumers and companies.
More about the energy transition
The level of relief for electricity customers if the abolition of the EEG surcharge is brought forward depends on the point in time. It would be conceivable, for example, to bring it forward to mid-2022. However, the estimate of the volume of ten billion euros this year is also subject to uncertainties. The exact amount depends on the electricity price and can only be precisely quantified afterwards.
In recent years, the EEG surcharge has totaled around 25 billion euros per year. The surcharge is paid by the electricity customers. Last year it was 6.5 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity, in 2020 it was 6.76 cents.
In 2020, the federal government decided to subsidize the EEG surcharge from budget funds for the first time from 2021 in order to cap the burden on electricity consumers. At that time it was also decided to limit the levy for 2022 to six cents. However, the traffic light coalition decided to increase the subsidization of the surcharge. They agreed to limit the surcharge to 3.72 cents in 2022.
More: Energy-intensive industry calls for a radical cut in electricity prices.