MUNICH/ESSEN (dpa-AFX) - Germany's largest electricity supplier, Eon, has criticized the federal government's decision not to go ahead with a planned reduction in electricity tax for households. Millions of consumers across Germany had been counting on the expected relief in electricity prices.
"We therefore very much regret, from a consumer perspective, the current considerations to forgo the reduction in electricity tax," said Eon's Head of Sales Germany, Filip Thon. State-imposed costs account for about one-third of the electricity price and urgently need to be reduced. Eon serves around twelve million electricity customers in Germany.
The CDU/CSU and SPD had agreed in their coalition agreement to permanently relieve companies and consumers in Germany by at least five cents per kilowatt hour through a package of measures. "To this end, as an immediate measure, we will reduce the electricity tax for everyone to the European minimum," the agreement states. The federal cabinet, however, has now backed away from the "for everyone" pledge, citing budgetary constraints. The final decision rests with the Bundestag.
"Fundamentally Wrong Signal for the Energy Transition"
Currently, the electricity tax stands at 2.05 cents per kilowatt hour, while the European minimum is 0.1 cents. This means a difference of 1.95 cents. If the tax were lowered to the minimum level, Eon has calculated that a household with an annual consumption of 2,500 kilowatt hours would see a net reduction in energy costs of just under 50 euros per year. "Families with higher consumption would have benefited even more."
Electricity thus continues to be taxed significantly higher than, for example, fossil gas. The natural gas tax amounts to only 0.55 cents per kilowatt hour. "In our view, this course sends a fundamentally wrong signal for the energy transition and efforts to make energy supply more sustainable," said the Eon executive./tob/DP/jha
