Conversation between the Greens and the FDP
Traffic light is working on electricity price relief
September 13, 2023, 5:17 a.m
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There is movement in the dispute within the traffic light coalition over a state-subsidized industrial electricity price. FDP leader Lindner’s proposal to reduce the electricity tax instead is apparently met with sympathy from the Greens.
The traffic light groups want to discuss how to provide relief for companies when it comes to electricity prices. Green Party deputy Andreas Audretsch said: “Electricity prices have to come down.” It is good that there is now momentum in the debate and that Finance Minister Christian Lindner from the FDP is also making concrete suggestions. That is a good basis for discussions. “We are already working on good options in the traffic light groups and will deepen the discussions in the coming week.”
In the coalition of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP, a debate has been going on for months about easing the burden on companies in view of the high electricity prices in Germany compared to other countries. Companies fear for their competitiveness. Associations warn of an increasing migration of production abroad. Economics Minister Robert Habeck, the Green parliamentary group and the SPD parliamentary group want a state-subsidized industrial electricity price for a transitional phase – the FDP is against it, Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejects a “permanent subsidy of electricity prices with a watering can”, as he said.
“We need a fair path”
The FDP is instead proposing a reduction in electricity tax. Energy-intensive companies currently benefit from the so-called peak compensation for electricity taxes. According to current plans, this relief is scheduled to expire at the end of 2023. Lindner had told “Welt am Sonntag” that the Bundestag could advise extending the peak compensation for another year – “if funds for counter-financing can be found elsewhere.”
Habeck would welcome an extension of the peak compensation, as a spokeswoman said. Audretsch said: “We need a fair path that works quickly and at the same time represents a bridge to the era of cheap renewable energies. Solar and wind power are unbeatably cheap and are the future of energy supply. Affordable energy was the goal of our electricity and gas price cap. We can build on that. Direct contracts between companies and electricity producers can also be a way to bring cheap electricity directly to companies.”