German gov't must swiftly implement electricity price reduction measures – northern states

The German federal government should significantly reduce electricity costs for citizens, industry, and small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to further the energy transition, concluded participants in the Conference of Northern Germany (KND), as reported by Süddeutsche Zeitung. The heads of the northern states welcomed the new coalition government's planned relief measures like the reduction of electricity tax, the reduction of grid fees and the abolition of a gas storage surcharge, and said these should be swiftly implemented. Additionally, they called for more far-reaching measures: "A structural reform of the financing of grid fees and the introduction of an industrial electricity price permissible under state aid law remain necessary,” they said. The KND is made up of the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

The states have also demanded a robust long-term strategy for the country’s transition to renewable energies, which should be guided by affordability and security of supply, reported Süddeutsche Zeitung. “The energy transition must be implemented in the long term with a balance between climate protection, security of supply and economic efficiency,” Manuela Schwesig, prime minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, told Frankfurter Allgemeine.

Last month, Handelsblatt reported that a plan by the German government to implement an industrial electricity price could be prevented by European law. Northern German states have been at the forefront of expanding onshore and offshore wind energy in Germany. As a result, grid fees in the north tend to be higher than in the south of the country, as the costs of updating the grid have so far been borne by those in the local area.