Consumer advocates demand reduction in electricity tax for households too
Following the German government's agreement on a package of measures to combat high electricity prices for industry, consumer advocates have also called for a reduction in electricity tax for private households. "Industry and SMEs are being relieved, while consumers continue to pay very high electricity prices," Christina Wallraf from the NRW consumer advice center told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper. "We are calling for the electricity tax to be reduced to the European minimum for private households too."
Cheaper electricity would also be an incentive to switch to heat pumps and electric cars, Wallraf said. "That was also the promise when carbon pricing was introduced: fossil fuels would become more expensive and the price of electricity would become cheaper."
According to the agreement reached by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner, the electricity tax for companies in the manufacturing sector is to fall from the current level of around 1.5 cents per kilowatt hour to 0.05 cents.
Consumer advocates argue that the reduction in electricity tax should extend to households as well, aligning with the European minimum measure. This adjustment could incentivize households to switch to more energy-efficient appliances like heat pumps and electric cars. Unfortunately, despite the initial promise of carbon pricing, households have not experienced a substantial decrease in electricity prices.
Source: www.ntv.de
