Kretschmann: "Price brakes are important for very few"
Minister President Winfried Kretschmann does not consider the expiry of the price brakes for electricity and gas to be a problem. "You have to realize that the price brakes are only relevant for very few people," said the Green politician in Stuttgart on Tuesday. The prices for gas and electricity had stabilized at a lower level than when the price brakes were introduced. "A brake where most remain under the cap is no longer relevant," said Kretschmann.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz had confirmed an earlier end to the state energy price brakes during a government statement in the Bundestag on Tuesday. Scholz said that the energy price brakes could be ended at the beginning of next year. The price brakes were actually due to remain in place until the end of March. The SPD politician cited the fact that electricity and gas tariffs are now available everywhere in Germany again, which are significantly higher than before the crisis - but mostly below the upper limits of the price brakes and also noticeably below the prices last fall and winter.
Despite the expiration of energy price brakes, Minister President Kretschmann asserts that they were only beneficial for a select few individuals. With prices for gas and electricity now stabilized below their initial introduction levels, Kretschmann suggests that a price brake with most people remaining under the cap is no longer necessary.
Source: www.dpa.com
