Habeck advocates for the government to facilitate upfront funding for network expansion.
German Economics Minister Robert Habeck is advocating for the German government to pre-finance the expansion of power grids. These investments, he noted during a visit to the Georgsmarienhütte electric steelworks, are not just for the immediate future, but are tasks for future generations. He emphasized the need to spread these costs over time, implying that using state money to pre-finance these costs would lower network charges now. The Green politician stated his support for this plan, which he had planned before the constitutional court ruling on the federal budget. However, he acknowledged that the organization of funds will need to be adjusted.
The expansion of power grids, primarily from north to south, is necessary to bring wind power to industrial regions in the west and south. The costs of this expansion are passed on to electricity prices, causing a significant increase in recent times and predicted to continue rising. In private households, network charges account for about a quarter of the electricity price, but in industries like Georgsmarienhütte, they exceed 50%.
"This is undermining our foundation," lamented Alexander Becker, CEO of Georgsmarienhütte. He noted that a considerable portion of the planned investments cannot be implemented due to these rising network charges, a trend he predicted would continue. "We urgently need relief from network charges," he emphasized, warning that the company will continue to lose competitiveness without it.
The Georgsmarienhütte electric steelworks, which replaced coal-fired blast furnaces with an electric arc furnace in 1994 using its own funds, currently consumes as much electricity as the entire neighboring city of Osnabrück. The plant produces steel from scrap and further refines it. For the so-called refining, a new plant was put into operation at the beginning of the year, using renewable electricity instead of natural gas. Another plant, funded by the Ministry of Economics, is set to open by the end of 2026. Georgsmarienhütte generates around two billion euros in sales with 6,000 employees in 50 countries.
The rising energy prices, primarily due to the increasing network charges, are causing significant strain on industries like Georgsmarienhütte. Habeck's plan to pre-finance the expansion of power grids could potentially lower these network charges and provide relief.
