The Bavarian Chambers of Industry and Commerce fear a flood of bureaucracy for energy-intensive companies with the announced price brake. The rules currently being considered in Berlin are therefore so complicated that many companies would rather forgo the help than meet the requirements. That said Manfred Gößl, the general manager of the Bavarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BIHK) on Tuesday. “Not only is there a risk of a flood of bureaucracy, but also completely disproportionate intervention in corporate management.”
According to Gößl, companies with high consumption are threatened by a scenario that the energy price brake is actually intended to prevent: “Many companies will want to forgo the aid and instead, if necessary, reduce their production in Germany or relocate energy-intensive processes.” Specifically, Gößl named three points that make things difficult for the company. Bureaucratic notification requirements, a mandatory location guarantee until 2025 and proof that profits have fallen by at least 30 percent compared to the Corona year 2021. “With such thumbscrews, the brakes will come to nothing as a well-intentioned help for many companies,” warned Gößl.
“For energy-intensive companies, especially in industry, the traffic light parties have made the initially good plans worse with more and more restrictive specifications and bureaucratic regulations.” The BIHK called on the federal government to urgently revise the design of the aid and to simplify it significantly. The criticism of the BIHK is primarily about industrial companies with high energy consumption. In principle, the chambers consider the price brake to be correct. For small consumers and the majority of the economy, the help is uncomplicated.