German consumers will no longer have to pay the renewables surcharge on the power price as of 1 July 2022. The German federal parliament (Bundestag) passed legislation to abolish the renewable levy that households and businesses pay with their power bills, and which was instrumental to fund the country’s expansion of renewable power capacity in the past 20 years. An average German family will save around 300 euros per year as a consequence. Payments to renewable installations will instead be paid for from the state’s energy and climate fund, which also receives revenue from emissions trading. To ensure that consumers really benefit from the price relief, the law obliges electricity suppliers to transparently lower prices as of July, the federal economy and climate ministry said.
The three-party government announced in its 2021 coalition agreement that the renewables levy, which currently amounts to 3.7 cents per kilowatt-hour, was going to be abolished by the end of 2022. The idea was to reduce the costs for power so that electric transport (e-cars) and heating (heat pumps) would become cheaper than fossil-fuelled alternatives. However, rising energy prices due to the shortage of Russian gas and the war in Ukraine prompted the government to introduce the measure earlier.
German consumers will no longer have to pay the renewables surcharge on the power price as of 1 July 2022. The German federal parliament (Bundestag) passed legislation to abolish the renewable levy that households and businesses pay with their power bills, and which was instrumental to fund the country’s expansion of renewable power capacity in the past 20 years. An average German family will save around 300 euros per year as a consequence. Payments to renewable installations will instead be paid for from the state’s energy and climate fund, which also receives revenue from emissions trading. To ensure that consumers really benefit from the price relief, the law obliges electricity suppliers to transparently lower prices as of July, the federal economy and climate ministry said.
You might start to see similar measures here in the U.S. as well. Consumers (who are also voters) don’t like having to pay higher energy prices. Many U.S. public utility bills also have components to fund measures (both climate and not) that could be delayed in order to provide temporary price relief, and you can expect that politicos are going to look at suspending them:
If we are heading into a recession, and if natural gas prices stay high, expect policymakers to pay more attention to electricity rates, which fund a massive array of climate and adaptation measures: Electric vehicle charging stations, renewable energy, transmission lines to carry renewable energy, and burying power lines to reduce the risk of wildfires.
"The stuff that you might not do to reduce costs because you want to have your cake and eat it too, maybe you change your view on that in an interval of time like this," said Michael Wara, director of Stanford University's climate and energy policy program.
The USA is in a much different position than Germany and the EU.
I hope you do understand that Germany and the rest of EU is still doubling down on building more renewable generation to make up for Russian fossil fuels.
USA is also doubling down on new renewables because they are the cheapest new electrical power generation. Politicos in the USA will not be asking utilities tp build more expensive new natural gas or more expensive coal fired power plants in lieu of cheap wind and solar.
There are no new nuclear plants to be built. Politicos may want to reduce subsidies for renewables, but then they would also need to reduce the big subsidies to old nuclear power plants.
If we are heading into a recession, and if natural gas prices stay high, expect policymakers to pay more attention to electricity rates, which fund a massive array of climate and adaptation measures: Electric vehicle charging stations, renewable energy, transmission lines to carry renewable energy, and burying power lines to reduce the risk of wildfires.
“The stuff that you might not do to reduce costs because you want to have your cake and eat it too, maybe you change your view on that in an interval of time like this,” said Michael Wara, director of Stanford University’s climate and energy policy program.
Electric vehicle charging stations, renewable energy, transmission lines to carry renewable energy, and burying power lines to reduce the risk of wildfires are all essential for electrical grid security and
IMO, Michael Wara, director of Stanford University’s climate and energy policy program is nuts to say that we can not or should not fund climate change and adaptation measures.
The USA is in a much different position than Germany and the EU.
Of course. The point wasn’t comparing our renewable policies - rather, to point out that electric bills in the U.S. also contain surcharges and fees that fund capital projects. Some of them are for renewables, but they also contain charges for undergrounding lines or promoting fire resiliency or what not. Those capital projects can be delayed in order to provide short term relief on the utility bills, just like Germany is doing with their renewable surcharge.
IMO, Michael Wara, director of Stanford University’s climate and energy policy program is nuts to say that we can not or should not fund climate change and adaptation measures.
He’s not saying we cannot or should not. He’s saying that politicians probably will not, at least perhaps for the next year, in order to reduce energy prices for end-customers.
There’s lots of things we can and should be doing that we’re not doing, because those things cost money and consumers hate paying more money for their energy.