BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany’s lower house of parliament passed two bills late on Thursday aimed at lowering electricity prices, which are among the highest in Europe and are a burden on industry and the wider economy.
The costs are inflated by transmission fees, levies and taxes.
* Lawmakers in the Bundestag voted to reduce network usagefees, a sizeable part of power bills, for all consumers for fouryears starting in 2026, with 6.5 billion euros ($7.6 billion) ingovernment subsidies to be transferred to transmission systemoperators annually. * They also voted to extend tax breaks that would haveexpired in 2026, bringing the electricity tax to the Europeanminimum for sectors like industry or agriculture. The financeministry estimates that the cut will benefit around 600,000companies. * Both bills require approval from the upper house ofparliament before coming into effect.
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
(Reporting by Berlin newsroom)
