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EEG surcharge: Stadtwerke could delete it on July 1st

2022-02-09T10:58:53.877Z


A good two-thirds of the electricity suppliers are municipal utilities. The head of the association, Ingbert Liebing, considers an early abolition of the EEG surcharge to be feasible. Do the saved costs really reach the customer?


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Power lines in NRW

Photo: Future Image / IMAGO

SPIEGEL:

Mr. Liebing, the tips of

SPD, FDP and Greens would like to bring forward the abolition of the EEG surcharge on July 1st.

Would that be too technically feasible for the municipal utility company?

Liebing:

Yes, it would be.

Provided that politicians do not discuss this until the summer break, but instead make a binding decision as soon as possible.

And as long as it doesn't issue too many new regulations, for example for the structure of the electricity bill.

SPIEGEL

: There are concerns that companies such as the public utility company will not pass on the saved costs to customers, or will only do so in part.

Are they justified?

Darling

: No.

We have an energy price crisis that the public utilities cannot escape from, just like any other energy supplier.

The purchase prices for electricity and gas have risen sharply worldwide.

The abolition of the EEG surcharge relieves electricity customers.

SPIEGEL

: If the surcharge of 3.7 cents per kilowatt hour is dropped, will the public utilities then lower electricity prices by 3.7 cents per kilowatt hour?

Liebing:

It doesn't work that way.

Increased purchase prices and omission of the levy will be charged.

That certainly has a dampening effect for the price.

SPIEGEL:

Consumer advocates have the suspicion that companies are not clear about the elimination of the EEG surcharge

offset against other items, but retain some of the costs saved as profit.

Liebing:

That may be true for dubious electricity providers, but not for the public utilities.

Local politicians often have a say in them.

In addition, they face stiff competition.

Those who do not pass on cost reductions quickly lose customers.

SPIEGEL:

There are doubts about how good the competition is.

Many customers are not particularly interested in their electricity bill.

They rarely change providers and don't look too closely at how their electricity prices are made up.

As a provider, you could try your luck and withhold part of the levy.

Liebing:

If supplier A collects the EEG surcharge as a profit and supplier B does not, then supplier B is simply cheaper.

And customers are more likely to switch there.

Regardless of whether they know the details of their electricity bill.

SPIEGEL:

If you don't change, is it your own fault?

Liebing:

No, that's simply the principle of the liberalized electricity market.

SPIEGEL:

Some shy away from the change because they find the market inscrutable.

More transparency would be helpful.

Why don't the municipal utilities break down which other items they use to offset the abolished EEG surcharge and how exactly?

This could increase trust in entrepreneurial honesty.

Liebing:

This is already common practice in basic care and is also regulated by law.

It doesn't work that way outside of the basic service, with free pricing and contract design.

The market also thrives on trade secrets.

Otherwise, companies could simply copy calculations from competitors.

more on the subject

  • Legal loophole for electricity providers: Planned cancellation of the EEG surcharge threatens to fizzle outBy Claus Hecking and Stefan Schultz

  • Because of mass layoffs: the public prosecutor initiates preliminary investigations against Stromio and Gas.deBy Lukas Eberle and Claus Hecking

  • Cancellation of the electricity or gas contract: This is how you can defend yourself against being kicked out by the energy supplierBy Claus Hecking

  • Horrendous prices for electricity and gas: Don't let the municipal utility rip you off. A column by Hermann-Josef Tenhagen

SPIEGEL:

The Environmental Energy Law Foundation proposes that suppliers be required by law to pass on the abolished EEG surcharge.

Would that be conceivable for you?

Darling:

No.

Luckily, the times when the state simply set prices are long gone.

SPIEGEL:

We are now living in times when hundreds of thousands of customers are suddenly paying crazy prices for basic services.

Is it fair for municipal utilities to charge consumers up to one euro per kilowatt hour of electricity?

Liebing:

As the basic supplier, municipal utilities sometimes had to supply thousands of new customers overnight because their providers had stopped operating at short notice.

Hardly any basic supplier has such huge amounts of electricity in stock.

So many had to buy additional electricity on the spot market - at exorbitant prices...

SPIEGEL:

... which, unlike the EEG surcharge, was passed on to new customers.

Liebing:

It would be even more unfair to pass on the price hike to existing customers.

Because they have even less to do with the whole thing.

For us, it's about leaving no one out in the rain and providing stability in this energy price crisis.

This is our understanding of services of general interest.

SPIEGEL:

What would be fair?

Liebing:

An obligation for utilities to announce the cessation of their operations three months in advance.

Then both customers and primary suppliers would have more time to plan.

SPIEGEL:

What else would help to prevent an extreme situation like the current one?

Liebing:

The Federal Network Agency would have to make full use of its powers to examine new suppliers as soon as they enter the market to see how serious their business model is.

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2022-02-09

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