German gas commissions agree on plans to lessen the effect of prices that are going up and up.
Experts in Germany who were asked to come up with plans to help consumers deal with rising gas prices agreed on a set of ideas early on Monday, sources close to the talks said.Reuters saw a draught of a paper that showed the commission wanted the state to give homes and businesses a one-time payment equal to one month’s gas bill this year and a price break starting in March or April of next year.
The Commission is still working on a different plan for industries that use a lot of gas.
In a second step, the state could pay for 60–80% of the projected gas consumption. Consumers would pay the rest at market prices, which would encourage them to save energy. According to the paper, the subsidised price could range between 12 and 14 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
If the plan is put into place, it would be paid for by a 200 billion euro ($194 billion) package of aid that Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government announced at the end of last month to help Europe’s largest economy deal with rising energy prices.
On Monday, the commission will hold a news conference to talk about its progress so far. It is likely that the government will adopt its main conclusions. A spokesperson for the economy ministry said that the ministry did not have a final plan yet.
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Experts say that the benefit of a one-time payment is that it helps right away. The problem is that it doesn’t give people any reason to save, even though experts say that at least 20% of gas savings are needed to keep from running out.
Putting the gas price brake in place takes more time.
