As of 1 July, German consumers will no longer have to pay the renewables surcharge on power price. The Bundestag, the German federal parliament, has passed legislation to abolish the renewable levy that households and businesses pay with their power bills, a levy that has been of great importance in funding the country's expansion of renewable power capacity for the past 20 years. An average German family will save around €300 a year. Payments to renewable installations will instead be paid for from the state’s energy and climate fund, which also receives revenue from emissions trading. To ensure that consumers really benefit from the price relief, the law obliges electricity suppliers to transparently lower prices as of July, the federal economy and climate ministry said.
The three-party government announced in its 2021 coalition agreement that the renewables levy, which currently amounts to 3.7 cents per kWh, was to be abolished by the end of 2022, the original purpose being to reduce the costs for power so that electric transport, and heating via heat pumps, would become cheaper than fossil-fuelled alternatives. However, rising energy prices due to the shortage of Russian gas and the war in Ukraine have prompted the government to introduce the measure earlier than planned.
