The German government has paved the way for the gas and electricity price brakes planned for next year. As the Ministry of Economics announced today, the two draft laws on the relief for energy customers have now cleared the next hurdle. Concerns regarding competitive disadvantages are now growing in Austria.
The Bundestag and Bundesrat are then to make a final decision on the energy brakes in December so that they can come into force as planned in the coming year. The German government is reacting to the sharp rise in energy prices with price brakes worth billions. They are intended to cushion the burden on households and companies from the coming year.
Prices are capped
It is planned that electricity, gas and heat prices will be limited for a proportion of consumption. As a first step, the Bundestag and Bundesrat had already decided on a December one-off payment that should benefit district heating and gas customers.
Stelzer for domestic gas price help
In Austria, more and more voices had recently been raised, according to which a similar approach to Germany had to be taken. Otherwise, the SPÖ, FPÖ, Chamber of Commerce and Federation of Industry warned that there would be major competitive disadvantages. According to the daily newspaper “Österreich” (Saturday edition), Upper Austria’s governor and ÖVP deputy head Thomas Stelzer has now spoken out in favor of national gas price support if the EU does not succeed in finding a solution quickly.
“I really hope that the EU can quickly agree on a gas price cap,” said Stelzer, according to the newspaper’s advance report. “But if that doesn’t work, Austria, like Germany, must have its own gas price support.”
