STORY: The federal government has decided to take the first step to relieve the 20 million gas and district heating customers. According to government representatives, the cabinet agreed on Wednesday on a draft law that would allow the first payment to be made this year if possible. The core plan is for gas customers to be reimbursed for a twelfth of their annual consumption by their suppliers. The advance payment for December can be omitted for the time being or reimbursed with the next following gas bill. According to the draft law, the federal government will transfer 8.9 billion euros to the suppliers beforehand. The payment is intended to serve as a bridge until the second stage takes effect from March. Then 80 percent of the basic consumption of households and businesses should be capped at twelve cents per kilowatt hour. If you consume more, you have to pay the full market price. This should serve as an incentive to save.