Germany to cap power prices – Reuters

The price ceiling will affect both households and industrial consumers, the news outlet reports citing a draft regulation

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.

READ MORE: German bailout of struggling energy giant may reach €60 billion – Bloomberg

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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