“Cost pressure on industry continues downward trend”

The energy costs for energy intensive industries in Germany in December 2016 have reached the lowest level in seven years, the Institute for Applied Ecology (Öko-Institut) said in a press release. The energy cost index in late 2016, which measures energy cost per unit, was more than 11 percent lower than one year before, according to data compiled by Öko-Institute together with the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) and the European Climate Foundation. According to the press release, energy costs accounted for 1.6 percent of the entire industrial production’s value last December, whereas this figure stood at 2.3 percent in 2010. Reasons for the lower financial burden are the greater share of oil and gas in primary energy consumption and the exemptions from taxes, levies and surcharges on power consumption these sectors enjoy, the press release said.

Find the press release in German here.

For more information, see the CLEW dossier Energiewende effects on power prices, costs and industry.