Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – The planned gas and electricity price brake for private households and small companies should apply retrospectively from January – the economy in the south-west welcomes the federal government’s draft law. The President of the Baden-Württemberg Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BWIHK), Christian Erbe, said in Stuttgart on Tuesday that this had been pointed out in the original plans for months. “Closing the gap is of central importance because numerous companies cannot pass the massively increased costs on to their customers in full.”
The traffic light wants to relieve private consumers and small businesses retrospectively from January. This is intended to close a “financial relief gap” for the brakes, which should take effect from March to April 2024. This is based on a draft law submitted by the Chancellery, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The price brakes should be designed in such a way that saving energy is worthwhile, according to government circles. They are “simple and general”.
As can be seen from the draft law available to the German Press Agency, the relief amount determined for the month of March is to be extended to the months of January and February “retrospectively”, so to speak. This procedure is also planned for the electricity price brake. According to the plans of the federal government, this should actually start in January. However, the energy industry had declared that this was not technically feasible, just like the gas price brake.
BWIHK boss Erbe said he was concerned if the retrospective payments would not be made until March. “Because then the money could arrive too late for many of those affected – for them every day counts. We therefore urgently need the hardship fund.”