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29 Mar 2021, 13:52
Kerstine Appunn

Extra CO2 costs for households not alleviated by cheaper power – comparison portal

Clean Energy Wire

German households can expect an overall increase in their energy costs despite reductions in the renewables levy on power prices, comparison website Verivox says. Due to the new CO2 charges on transport and heating fuels, the average German household will pay around 194 euros more per year as of 2022. This will go up each year as the cost of emissions increases. Meanwhile the renewables levy on the power price, which is set to be reduced from 6.5 cents to 6 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2022, will not fall quickly enough to alleviate these extra costs, Verivox writes. "If the renewabes levy were to be completely abolished next year, household electricity costs would fall significantly," says Thorsten Storck, energy expert at Verivox. "But due to the newly introduced CO2 price paid for heating and driving, an average household will  pay overall higher energy costs by 2023." By 2024, households could pay an overall 69 euros more for energy and, by 2025, an average of 134 euros more, Verivox estimates.

However, calculations by the environment ministry for different family situations, car ownerships and income structures estimate a less severe impact, in particular when taking into account tax advantages given to commuters and a yet-to-be decided participation of landlords in heating costs for tenants.

Germany introduced a CO2 price in the heating and transport sector in January 2021 with a fixed price of 25 euros per tonne of CO2, which will increase to 55 euros by 2025. Electricity generation, industry and aviation are part of the EU’s carbon pricing scheme (EU ETS). The German renewables levy makes up about a quarter of the consumer power price and is used to support the expansion of renewable installations. By paying parts of it from the federal budget, the levy will be curbed in 2021 and 2022 and, in the medium term, could be abolished entirely, energy minister Peter Altmaier has said.

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