Gas levy: energy companies wrote down the measure
Created: 08/29/2022, 07:38
By: Moritz Serif
Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has had to take a lot of criticism for the gas levy these days.
© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa/picture alliance
The gas surcharge has sparked debate, as economically healthy companies also benefit from the measure.
Berlin – Did energy companies, of all people, who are supposed to benefit from Robert Habeck's (Greens) controversial gas levy, participate in the measure?
This is reported by the business magazine
Business Insider
in a research.
The news portal
t-online
also refers to the report.
According to this, the idea for the gas levy came about when the energy company Uniper got into serious financial difficulties.
Rating agencies wanted to downgrade the company's creditworthiness.
Therefore, the traffic light coalition worked out the gas levy with the heads of two energy companies and representatives of Unipern.
The energy companies did not want a 1:1 solution to result in price adjustments for millions of customers, as the costs for this would have shot up into the billions.
Habeck: Gas allocation should be adjusted
Customers also threatened to be treated unequally.
In the meantime, Habeck has announced that he still wants to adjust the gas levy.
The main criticism is that healthy companies also benefit from the measure.
However, the Economics Minister defended the measure to stabilize Uniper.
Previously there was criticism from the ranks of the traffic light coalition.
FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr said that the gas surcharge "should under no circumstances lead to extra returns for companies".
"We have to be careful that state intervention does not make the energy crisis worse," Dürr warned.
"The aim of our measures must be to ensure the energy supply in autumn and winter." It is therefore of essential importance "to increase the supply of energy, among other things by extending the service life of nuclear power plants".
SPD politicians criticize Habeck's gas allocation
The SPD member of the Bundestag Ralf Stegner said that the cabinet meeting in Meseberg was "the right place and the right time to renegotiate the gas levy".
The currently planned allocation is also “unfair: because it now offers companies that are not in need and have made millions in profits over the years the opportunity for extra profits.
At the same time, it exacerbates social hardship for millions of consumers,” said the politician.
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil had previously accused the Green Federal Minister of Economics of "technical errors" in the construction of the gas surcharge.
On Sunday evening in the ZDF program heute journal, Habeck again promised to revise the gas levy and at the same time fundamentally defended the planned measure to support the energy market.
(mse/afp)