BERLIN, Jan 22 (Reuters) – The German government may scrap a surcharge on electricity bills used to expand renewables this year to ease the pressure of rising energy costs on millions of households , Social Democratic Party (SPD) co-chairman Lars Klingbeil said on Saturday.
The three ruling parties in Germany agreed in their coalition agreement presented in November to abolish the tax in question from January 1, 2023.
“We are now examining whether this can be brought forward,” said Lars Klingbeil on the sidelines of a meeting of the SPD, the party of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The surcharge has been reduced by 43% since January 1 but is still expected to cost households 222 euros on average this year.
Lars Klingbeil said the government needed to do more to support consumers facing soaring heating and lighting costs, hence talks between the SPD and its coalition partners.
“I’m sure we will see results very quickly,” he added.
Some 4.2 million German households will see their electricity bills rise by an average of 63.7% this year, while 3.6 million will face a 62% jump in their gas bills, suppliers passing on their customers record prices in wholesale markets, according to industry data.
Like many other countries, Germany has been in the throes of an energy crisis since the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions led to a surge in demand for natural gas, amid low supplies, which translated by soaring prices. (Report Andreas Rinke, French version Benjamin Mallet)