Berlin (Reuters) – The reduced industrial electricity price decided by the federal government after a long struggle has been well received by the economy.
“The reduction in electricity tax for the manufacturing sector is an overdue decision,” said the President of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), Peter Adrian, on Thursday. “Ultimately, electricity has to be cheap so that medium-sized industrial companies in particular can follow their path to climate neutrality.” At the same time, more energy-intensive companies would be relieved of significant bureaucracy. Together, this is an important signal for the extremely electricity-intensive industries.
The family business owners expressed similar opinions. “Reducing the electricity tax to the European minimum and extending it to all manufacturing companies is a booster for Germany as a business location,” said its President Marie-Christine Ostermann. Now the energy supply would have to be expanded and planning and approval procedures simplified. “In short: there is still a lot to do,” said Ostermann. “But this compromise finally gives hope that things are going in the right direction.”
But there is also criticism. The Central Association of German Crafts (ZDH) complained that important energy-intensive sectors in the craft sector would once again fall through the cracks because they do not formally belong to the manufacturing industry – such as textile cleaning or automotive trade businesses. “Relief is urgently needed for all energy-intensive companies in order to avert an impending threat to their existence,” said trade president Jörg Dittrich. “The federal government should tighten up the relief package again.”
The DIHK also sees a need for improvement. “However, it is doubtful whether the package will ultimately be enough to secure competitive electricity prices for the entire industry,” said its president Adrian. “Businesses in retail and services also depend on affordable electricity prices.” It is therefore more than a downer that the electricity tax is not generally reduced to the minimum.
(Report by Rene Wagner – If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at [email protected])