After the Ukraine war, German households are threatened with an energy surcharge of several hundred euros, as can be seen from the price published on Monday, which prompted the government to announce aid measures.
The fee was set at 2.419 cents per kilowatt hour, according to Trading Hub Europe, a non-profit corporation of energy network operators in Germany.
For a family of four using an average annual energy consumption of 20,000 kWh, that would be around 483.80 euros ($493.70) before goods and services taxes.
The surcharge is intended to share rising costs for energy importers after Russia drastically curtailed gas supplies to Germany after invading Ukraine.
So far, gas importers have borne the additional costs themselves, but a new rule agreed by the government allows them to pass on the inflation costs to households via the levy from October 1st.
“The step is by no means easy, but it is necessary to maintain the heat and energy supply in households and the economy,” said Economics Minister Robert Habeck.
He promised that the levy “will be accompanied by another aid package,” the details of which are still being discussed.
Germany has been scrambling to find alternative sources of energy to fill the gap left by Russia.
According to Habeck, Europe’s export giant built its economic model on “dependence on cheap Russian gas”.
“It is a political mistake to become dependent on a potentate who tramples on people and citizens … and to break free and regain control,” stressed the minister.
The Kiel Institute for the World Economy estimates that the surcharge will push up the inflation rate in Germany, which is already rising sharply, by a further 0.9 percentage points.
Chemical and pharmaceutical companies would have to shell out three billion euros more for the levy, said the industry association VCI, which admitted it was a necessary but “extremely bitter pill”.
The state has had to inject billions of euros into energy giant Uniper to prevent its collapse after it was hit by Russia’s energy cuts.
However, the large energy group RWE has announced that, as a “financially strong and robust company”, it will waive the levy and continue to bear the additional import costs itself.
The group reported last week a profit of 1.57 billion euros for the first half of the year.
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