Saalfeld (dpa/th) – The CDU member of parliament Maik Kowalleck has criticized the new heating cost regulation of the federal government. It is a price driver if landlords have to inform their tenants monthly about the costs of heating, said the spokesman for financial policy for the CDU parliamentary group in the Thuringian state parliament on Friday. The heating bill must contain comparative information on the consumption in the previous month and the same month in the previous year as well as on the average consumption. The information for consumers is intended to help save heating energy and thus money. The federal government has thus implemented EU requirements for energy efficiency.

“In view of the dramatic increase in energy prices, it is completely incomprehensible that further bureaucratic requirements should be used to tighten the cost screw,” said Kowalleck. That is why the new heating cost regulation must be reviewed immediately and not only after three years as planned.

With the planned gas levy, the next price driver has already been launched by the federal government, according to the CDU deputy. People shouldn’t be left alone with the cost explosions, “after all, the state earns money from the high prices through VAT. There shouldn’t be any bans on suspension or reduction here.”

On Thursday evening, the federal cabinet agreed on a gas levy that will lead to price increases for gas customers from autumn. The federal government wants to prevent gas suppliers from collapsing as a result of severely curtailed Russian gas supplies, which have so far not been able to pass on the additional costs. However, it is unclear how high the levy is and when exactly it will reach consumers.