Chamber of Crafts calls for improvements to the electricity price package
The Hamburg Chamber of Skilled Crafts has called for improvements to the German government's electricity price package. It criticized the fact that the electricity tax is only to be reduced to the minimum value permitted in the EU for businesses in the manufacturing sector. It is disappointing "that, for example, very energy-intensive textile cleaners or businesses in the automotive trade will not benefit because they are not formally part of the manufacturing sector," said Chamber of Crafts President Hjalmar Stemmann on Thursday.
For many of these companies, too, the electricity cost burden is a threat to their existence. "How can we explain this different treatment to the companies concerned?" he asked. All energy-intensive companies should be equally relieved. "The German government must take another look at the package of measures, which distorts competition in this form," he demanded.
The German government's electricity price package includes plans to further reduce the electricity tax for all companies in the manufacturing sector from the already reduced rate of 15.37 euros per megawatt hour to just 50 cents per megawatt hour. In return, the current peak equalization scheme, which allows energy-intensive companies to receive a large part of their electricity tax refund, is to be phased out.
The Hamburg Industry Association expressed its relief at the plans, which were only agreed by the Berlin coalition after a long struggle on Thursday. "This highly overdue compromise is hopefully the necessary lifeline for our industry in the face of the current competitive price disadvantages," said Matthias Boxberger, head of the association.
The Federal Government's decision to only reduce the electricity tax to the minimum EU value for manufacturing sector businesses, excluding energy-intensive companies in textiles and automotive, is a cause for concern. Despite the planned reduction of the electricity tax for all manufacturers, the phase-out of the peak equalization scheme may negatively impact these energy-intensive companies, potentially leading to competition imbalances.
Source: www.dpa.com
