BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – The federal government is still struggling with the planned relief from high gas prices about the scope and timing. “If the gas price brake does not come until spring, it must be checked whether the burden can be relieved retrospectively via an annual or quarterly statement,” said Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) of the Funke media group. “We’re working on that right now.” The gas price brake is intended to help citizens and companies who are suffering from the sharp rise in prices. The main reason for this is the stop of gas supplies from Russia.
The expert commission set up by the federal government will present its final report on the planned gas price brake on Monday. Afterwards, representatives of trade unions, companies, science and politics will come together with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) for a third session of the “Concerted Action”. The group is looking for common ways to mitigate the high inflation and loss of income.
The most important proposals of the group of experts on the price brake are already known: In December, the state is to take over the gas advance payments from the citizens. In addition, gas prices are to be reduced by government intervention for companies in January and for private households from March or April. However, the design has not yet been decided.
The President of the Association of the Chemical Industry, Markus Steilemann, urged everyone to hurry. If the announced state aid should still help the companies, they would have to come quickly, Steilemann told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper”. “The situation is dramatic. Many entrepreneurs, especially in small and medium-sized businesses, have their backs to the wall,” he warned. Almost every day, companies reported to the association that their energy supply was not yet secured for the coming year.
As the “Handelsblatt” reported, according to the expert commission, companies should only be relieved by the gas price brake if they keep their locations. For this, the companies should have to conclude a location and transformation agreement, writes the newspaper, which has excerpts of the commission’s final report.
In its interim report, the Commission of Experts had proposed using subsidies to limit the gas procurement price for the first 70 percent of consumption to seven cents per kilowatt hour for large industrial consumers. Around 25,000 companies in Germany could take advantage of the help.
Regarding a possible price brake for heating with oil or wood pellets, Lindner said: “You have to see the overall effect of the different relief measures – from the heating cost subsidy to the new housing benefit to the flat-rate energy price. A price brake for oil or pellets is currently not planned, but it is being discussed.” /brd/DP/mis