Monday is the day of truth for millions of gas customers in Germany. Then the amount of the gas surcharge to save systemically important gas importers should be announced. Consumers have to reckon with considerable additional costs. The levy will come in the fall. Some answers to the most important questions:
How high will the levy be?
The exact amount of the levy is calculated by the so-called market area manager Trading Hub Europe, a joint venture of the gas transmission system operators. It should be announced on Monday. The Ministry of Economics recently assumed a range of 1.5 to 5 cents per kilowatt hour. All gas consumers, companies and private households, have to pay the surcharge. The comparison portal Verivox calculated additional costs of between 89 and 298 euros for this range for a single household with an annual consumption of 5000 kilowatt hours. A typical couple household would be charged between 214 and 714 euros, a family in a single-family home (consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours) with 357 to 1190 euros. This includes VAT. In addition, there are market-driven, sometimes drastic price increases that are gradually reaching customers. Many people are affected because around half of all apartments in Germany are heated with gas.
When will the surcharge reach consumers?
The levy will apply from the beginning of October – but it will not be visible immediately on the invoices, but with a little delay, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. For reasons of consumer protection, there are notice periods in the Energy Industry Act of four to six weeks that must be observed. Therefore, the surcharge will probably be shown on the invoices for the first time in November/December. However, the Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) expects that some suppliers will bill their customers for the surcharge from October 1st.
Does the amount of the levy remain constant?
According to the ministry, the surcharge is billed monthly and can be adjusted every three months. Should Russia fully meet its contractually guaranteed quantities again, the price adjustment will be set to zero. The amount of the levy therefore depends essentially on the volume and price of the gas procured as a replacement and on demand. The higher the compensation for the importers, the higher the surcharge.
Why is the levy necessary at all?
Gas importers have delivery obligations to their customers, especially to municipal utilities. The importers can only meet these delivery obligations by replacing the lost quantities from Russia by purchasing much more expensive quantities on the short-term market. So far, these additional costs cannot be passed on. The result: significant losses have been incurred by importers, and the continued existence of the company can be jeopardized. That is why the federal government has agreed on a rescue package worth billions with the utility Uniper. At the same time, the federal government also decided to apply the levy to all gas customers. The alternative would have been to finance the financial compensation for the importers through the state budget. However, this would be associated with “considerable burdens” on the budget, according to the regulation. Politically, the federal government is also sending a price signal: Saving on gas is also financially worthwhile.
How does the levy work?
The core are compensation payments to the gas importers. They should be sufficient to prevent bankruptcies, it is said. The levy is intended to prevent “further massive price increases due to the insolvency-related loss of important gas importers for the market”. The financial compensation for affected gas importers is limited in time to the fulfillment of contractual delivery obligations from October 1, 2022 to April 1, 2024. According to the ministry, the affected gas importers will bear all costs for the replacement procurement alone until October. After that, they bear 10 percent of the costs permanently themselves.
How is the levy calculated?
There is a complex formula for calculating the allocation, which, among other things, takes into account the difference between the contractually agreed and the current purchase price. The amount of the additional costs must be certified by auditors. According to the ministry, the compensation will be made by the gas suppliers, who will usually pass on the costs to their customers.
What open questions are there?
One problem is how to deal with customers with fixed contracts. So far, the ministry has only said that this will be checked. In a letter to Economics Minister Robert Habeck, the BDEW and the association of municipal companies warned that a price adjustment for customers with contracts without the possibility of adjustment could not be enforced until October 1st. This affects an average of around 25 percent of household customers and small businesses, and even significantly more for some suppliers. “The result would be that the companies would have to pay the levy to the market area manager, but would not be reimbursed immediately by the end consumers,” the letter says. In the case of fixed price contracts and in the electricity and district heating supply generated from gas, there is a risk of a total failure if the surcharge cannot be contractually passed on. “This creates significant liquidity problems for the energy suppliers, which can also lead to insolvency due to the already tense financial situation.”
How about VAT?
According to the current status, VAT is due on the state gas levy – so the state also earns. The federal government would like to exempt the surcharge from VAT – but this has not been provided for under European law so far. Finance Minister Christian Lindner has asked for an exception at EU level: In a letter to EU Finance Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, Lindner asked him to use his right of initiative and give the EU states the opportunity to refrain from state taxes in the energy sector for a while to charge VAT. Irrespective of this, Germany will apply for an exception under Article 395 of the VAT Directive. Saarland Prime Minister Anke Rehlinger had proposed passing on VAT revenue from the gas levy to poorer households.
What state levies are there?
In addition to the procurement levy, there will also be a gas storage levy in the fall. This is intended to reimburse Trading Hub Europe for the costs it incurs to ensure security of supply, i.e. for the purchase of gas. However, the Ministry of Economic Affairs does not assume that this levy will reach a “relevant size”.
Is the federal government planning additional relief in return?
Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed on Thursday that the government would not leave the citizens alone. At the beginning of next year there should be a significant increase in housing benefit, and a permanent heating cost subsidy for low-income households is also planned. Finance Minister Lindner is planning tax relief, but his concept is controversial in the coalition. Parts of the SPD and the Greens call them socially unbalanced.
