BERLIN (Reuters) – Plans by the parties hoping to form Germany’s next government to halve electricity network fees would cost around 6 billion euros ($6.50 billion) per year, the head of grid operator 50Hertz said on Monday.
To lower electricity prices, Germany’s conservatives and Social Democrats (SPD) agreed to reduce the electricity tax for all consumers to the European minimum and halve the transmission network fees as a first step, with the aim of permanently capping network fees, according to the agreement document.
“Six billion euros would be the sum required to halve the network fees of the transmission system operators,” CEO Stefan Kapferer said in a news conference, adding that it was important to reduce overall costs.
“Because in the long term, it will, of course, not be easy to mobilize 6 billion euros in subsidies every year,” he added.
Power prices in Germany are the highest in Europe, partly due to high grid fees, levies and taxes that make up around 50% of the total electricity cost for consumers.
($1 = 0.9230 euros)
(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Tom Kaeckenhoff; Editing by Miranda Murray)
