New struggle for gas prices - brake instead of surcharge?

Created: 09/25/2022Updated: 09/25/2022 15:34

Christian Lindner (l, FDP), Federal Minister of Finance, and Robert Habeck (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, take part in the Bundestag session.

© Kay Nietfeld/dpa

The pressure is growing to stop the sharp jumps in gas prices.

But a dispute has broken out over funding.

And what will become of the surcharge, which will soon be added to the prices?

Berlin - Due to the drastically rising energy costs, a gas price brake is becoming more and more important - and the planned gas levy is becoming increasingly unstable.

Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner also expressed doubts about the surcharge for millions of customers to compensate for higher gas procurement costs.

"It's less a question of law when it comes to the gas levy, but more and more of a question of economic meaning," said the head of the FDP to "Bild am Sonntag".

“We have a gas surcharge that increases the price.

But we need a gas price brake that lowers the price.” There is already a dispute about the financing.

Further regulations are to come to protect households with payment difficulties from imminent gas and electricity blockages.

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz held out the prospect of proposals to curb gas prices in the near future.

It is now a question of "how we can reduce the far too high prices, both for electricity and for gas," said the SPD politician on Sunday during a visit to Qatar.

A commission started consultations on Saturday and is doing "very good, constructive" work.

"We will also be able to count on quick results there."

Many question marks about the gas surcharge

The chancellor kept a low profile when he was traveling about the gas levy.

However, there have been more and more question marks surrounding this support for suppliers since the federal government decided to nationalize the large gas importer Uniper.

For the time being, however, the government wants to stick to the levy, which is to come on October 1st - at least as a "bridge", as Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) called it.

It will still be a few months before the Uniper takeover is completed.

At the same time, the department referred to possible financial constitutional risks if the main beneficiaries of the levy were to be in the hands of the state.

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil has already demanded that the gas allocation be put to the test.

The parallel debate about putting the brakes on gas prices continued to gain momentum over the weekend.

Lindner argued that it would take time before there was help for households, crafts, sports clubs or culture.

"A gas price brake must help everyone in an economy quickly." Green leader Omid Nouripour also campaigned for a price limit on Sunday.

"The electricity price cap will come," he said at a party conference in Landshut, Bavaria.

"But of course we also need a gas price cap." That is complicated, but you have to tackle it.

Habeck emphasized on Sunday that companies and citizens urgently need relief.

"Gas prices have to go down, the costs for the economy and households have to be limited," he told the newspapers of the Funke media group.

But now you have to "raise all the financial strength of the state that is necessary to lead the good substance of our economy through this crisis and to maintain social cohesion".

Debate about the debt brake again

The question of an additional gas price damper promptly fueled the smoldering debate about the debt brake in the Basic Law, which only allows the federal and state governments to take out new loans to a limited extent.

Lindner wants to comply with them again in 2023.

"A gas price brake must be combined with long-term stable public finances," he said.

"The debt brake for the federal budget is in place."

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The Greens immediately returned the ball after Lindner's advance: "The gas levy can go as soon as the Ministry of Finance is willing to offer an alternative.

This alternative means: financing from budget funds," said party leader Ricarda Lang.

Lindner must now deliver and provide the necessary funds to stabilize suppliers and lower energy prices.

Capping gas prices for basic needs is the right way to go.

There is also pressure from local authorities.

"Citizens and companies can no longer bear the rising costs for gas and electricity as well as the high inflation," said the President of the German District Association, Reinhard Sager, to the newspapers of the Funke media group (Sunday).

Supporting individual energy companies with federal funds is better than the levy.

Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) again called for a "cap" for the gas price and a limit for fuel.

His Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) proposed capping the gas price to eight cents per kilowatt hour in October.

The difference to the current price of more than 20 cents should be paid by the state to the energy suppliers.

The government wants to tackle increased protection for households that could be threatened with electricity and gas being cut off in winter.

Federal Consumer Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) told the German Press Agency that the planned electricity price brake will reduce the number of cases in which people can no longer afford their electricity bills.

"In addition, we will enshrine a regulation in law that prevents electricity and gas cuts." dpa