WDK welcomes Germany’s move to drop renewable energy surcharge

Frankfurt, Germany – The German rubber industry association WDK, as part of the Alliance for a Fair Energy Transition, has welcomed a move by the coalition government to discard the renewable energy surcharge – otherwise known as the EEG levy – by 2023.

"We have been calling for the financing of the energy transition costs from the federal budget for 10 years,” said Dr Hubert Schmidt, president of the steel and metal processing industry association 26 Jan.

“We expressly welcome this milestone of the energy transition, which is planned for 2023 in the coalition agreement, in view of the trend in electricity prices, which again increased dramatically towards the end of 2021", he added.

In November last year, the new German government disclosed plans to abolish the EEG levy paid by consumers with their electricity bills, at the beginning of 2023.

The move will in particular benefit German small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), which have been impacted by environmental energy surcharges introduced in recent years. 

Last year, the government added an emissions trading scheme, which the Fair Energy Transition Alliance said could lead to emigration of business, job losses and reduced value-creation among energy-intensive industries. 

Furthermore, businesses were hit by the sudden and sharp increases in energy prices, including natural gas, coal power and crude oil, late last year.