The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, defended this Tuesday the acceleration of the reforms in the electricity market to alleviate the pressure on consumers and companies before this winter.
Power companies not dependent on gas, such as nuclear, solar or renewables, had been able to “make extra profit because the price is determined by the electricity produced with gas,” Scholz said in a speech in Berlin.
Germany and the European Union have developed proposals to get windfall profits from these producers to ease the pressure on consumers and businesses suffering from rising bills.
“We are going to move this forward very quickly so that we can alleviate this burden,” appealed the German chancellor, adding: “You can be sure that this will happen at the speed necessary to control it this winter.”
Germany scrambled to fill up gas storage tanks ahead of peak power season and rushed to build gas terminals to import new supplies from elsewhere.
The Germans restarted activity at coal-fired power plants and, in early September, decided to keep two nuclear power plants in operation. support in mid-April, instead of completely ending the use of atomic energy by the end of the year.
Germany’s government also unveiled a 65 billion euro ($66 billion) plan to ease pressure from inflated energy prices, including money for retirees and students.
Scholz’s call comes at a time when Russia has cut gas supplies to Europe following the invasion of Ukraine, raising the price of fuel and, by implication, the cost of electricity.
Source: TSF
