Exorbitant energy prices are hitting consumers and the economy hard. As in Corona times, the MV government invited to the crisis summit. The situation is serious, it is about livelihoods, warned entrepreneurs. There was also a lot of criticism.
Rostock (dpa/mv) – In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, politics, business and associations are campaigning for an energy price cap. Consumers and companies urgently need planning security, said Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig on Monday after a state energy summit in Rostock. All participants agreed on the demand for a price cap.
According to the model, 80 percent of average energy consumption should be secured at stable, affordable prices. The difference to the market prices is to be financed by the state. Anything over the 80 percent would have to be paid for by consumers themselves at higher prices.
The three chambers of industry and commerce in Neubrandenburg, Rostock and Schwerin welcomed a possible price cap for energy, even if the Federal Network Agency was reserved on the point. “But we have to keep an eye on the constantly increasing costs per kilowatt hour. The management of the companies must continue to be worthwhile in the future,” said the executive IHK President Matthias Belke.
At the same time, the SPD politician Schwesig called for a joint protective shield from the federal and state governments to absorb the consequences of the energy crisis. The crisis endangers the economy and consumers to a greater extent than the pandemic. “It’s much bigger. The energy crisis affects everyone.”
It must also be considered whether, as in the pandemic, there is the possibility of taking out loans in case of doubt about exceptions to the debt brake. “But we’re not at that point yet,” said Schwesig. The government cabinet and representatives of municipal utilities, trade unions, companies, municipalities and associations took part in the conference.
The President of the Ostmecklenburg-Vorpommern Chamber of Crafts, Axel Hochschild, described the topic of energy as one of the most urgent problems: “It is now a question of livelihoods.”
Criticism came from the opposition CDU. “Manuela Schwesig used the summit to address inconsistent calls for action to the federal government. That’s all that happened,” said the energy policy spokesman for the CDU parliamentary group, Daniel Peters. For months, Schwesig has been asking the federal government not only to pay out the so-called energy money to employees, but also to pensioners. “For months, this demand has been ignored by the federal government.”
One topic of the conference was a planned hardship fund of 30 million euros. “It’s about compensating for absolute hardship,” emphasized Schwesig. Answers would also have to be found as to how new energy sources could be developed and fed in, how energy could be saved and how the burden on companies and citizens could be relieved.
The Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania district council emphasized that the price increase would primarily affect recipients of social benefits such as social assistance and unemployment benefit II. These additional costs would be borne significantly by the districts. The federal and state governments are therefore asked to significantly increase their contributions to the heating costs, as these funds would otherwise be lacking in the voluntary tasks for the development of the districts, warned association manager Matthias Köpp.
