BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – According to the will of the federal government, consumers and companies in Germany should no longer pay an EEG levy on their electricity bill from July. On Wednesday, the cabinet approved a corresponding draft by Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). The levy to promote green electricity is then paid from the federal budget. Electricity providers should be obliged to pass on the full relief to their customers. In order for the law to come into force, the Bundestag must still approve it.
The step was originally planned for early 2023. However, the leaders of the traffic light coalition had agreed to bring it forward because of the high energy prices. So far, the levy has been 3.72 cents per kilowatt hour. According to calculations by the price portal Verivox, a single household with an annual consumption of 1500 kilowatt hours will save around 33 euros (gross) this year by doing away with it. Households with an annual consumption of 6000 kilowatt hours are therefore around 133 euros. According to Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), the premature abolition will cost the federal government around 6.6 billion euros./tam/DP/ngu