Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) and SPD leader Lars Klingbeil have shown themselves open to helping the industry with cheaper energy. In the economy there is intensive talk about an industrial electricity price, Habeck told the editorial network Germany. “And I think we have to do that.” That costs money, and that requires agreement in the federal government. Klingbeil pleaded in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper for getting the perks up and running quickly. “Some people talk about the year 2030. But it’s about the next twelve months.”
Even before the current energy crisis, the German economy had complained that the comparatively high electricity prices in the Federal Republic were a locational disadvantage. In addition, international competition is becoming fiercer, for example because the USA is promoting industrial settlements with subsidies. Cheaper industrial electricity is to be financed with tax money.
Skepticism comes from the FDP. Finance Minister Christian Lindner recently said in an interview with business week, on the one hand energy prices would be driven up by political decisions. On the other hand, they should be subsidized for part of the economy. “Where is the limit? What does that mean for the competition between industry and medium-sized companies that don’t get an industry prize? How much money should that claim?”
The FDP boss advocates “free market solutions” such as long-term supply contracts. On the one hand, they are intended to offer price guarantees to bulk buyers and investment security to producers of wind power, for example.
Habeck, on the other hand, argues that you lose money if you cap prices. “But if we don’t cap them, we may lose the industries of the future.” According to him, important technologies should not only come from China or the USA. He mentioned a period of four or five years.
Help from the Economic and Stabilization Fund?
It is still unclear how much industrial electricity will cost in Germany. Klingbeil said: “You have to see whether that’s 5 or 7 cents per kilowatt hour.” For comparison: Many private consumers now pay well over 30 cents. The SPD man suggested financing the help for industry from the Economic and Stabilization Fund. “During the crisis, we rightly decided to provide 200 billion euros for the gas and electricity price brake. That should help private households, but also companies.” From the beginning, the idea was to get citizens, but also jobs in industry, safely through the crisis.
Habeck’s State Secretary Patrick Graichen had announced that he would present a concept for an industrial electricity price in the new week. He named a price of 5 or 6 cents per kilowatt hour. At the end of March, the energy ministers of the federal states also spoke out in favor of a reduced industrial electricity price.