Industry and households have to pay the surcharge from October. For an average household of four, this results in additional costs of 480 euros per year. It is unclear whether VAT will be added.
From October, households and industry will have to pay a gas levy of 2.419 cents per kilowatt hour. This was announced by the Trading-Hub Europe (THE) joint venture at noon. This is a subsidiary of the gas network operator. The sum is intended to compensate for the expensive procurement of replacements for failed Russian deliveries.
For an average household of four with a consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours per year, this would mean an additional burden of 480 euros per year. If the VAT of 19 percent is added, the amount adds up to around 570 euros.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) has asked the EU not to have to levy the tax. The levy comes on top of the regular tariffs for fuel, which have already risen sharply. The federal government has already announced a third relief package for citizens, which provides for help with housing benefits and income tax, among other things.
The surcharge is intended to help importers who are suffering from the reduction in gas supply volumes from Russia. In order to meet their delivery obligations to public utilities, for example, they have to buy replacements at high prices on the stock exchange. So far, the suppliers have not been able to pass these costs directly on to customers in current contracts.
The levy will apply from the beginning of October – but it will not be visible directly on the invoices, but with a little delay, the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced. For reasons of consumer protection, there are notice periods in the Energy Industry Act of four to six weeks that must be observed. Therefore, the surcharge will probably be shown on the invoices for the first time in November/December with a slight delay.