Germany to cap power prices – Reuters

Germany is about to introduce a price ceiling on electricity for both households and industrial consumers as part of its latest attempt to tackle the energy crisis, Reuters reported on Tuesday citing a draft document from the German government.

According to the report, power prices will be capped at 13 euro cents per kilowatt-hour for industrial consumers for 70% of last year’s consumption, while households will have a ceiling of 40 euro cents per kilowatt-hour for 80% of use.

The regulation is to come into force on January 1.

The news follows a similar draft regulation for gas prices. According to Reuters, Germany's gas commission presented a final proposal to limit costs to 12 euro cents per kilowatt-hour for 80% of households' standard consumption starting from March 2023 until the end of April 2024 at the earliest. Prices for industrial consumers are also to be capped – at 7 euro cents per kilowatt-hour. The changes will take effect in February. Berlin is reportedly due to make further decisions on the draft regulation later this week.

Berlin’s unilateral measures to deal with the energy crisis, starting with a €200 billion aid package announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz last month, have not been welcomed by the rest of the EU, which called for a more unified approach.

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