Austria hopes

Will the Germans finally abolish the gas surcharge?

A gas pressure gauge in a storage facility in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate(Bild: APA/dpa/Uwe Anspach)

According to a media report, the Czech Republic has received assurances from the German government that the controversial gas storage surcharge will soon be abolished. This also raises hopes in Austria, where people have been protesting against the introduction of the controversial surcharge on the gas price as a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022.

Germany had already announced an end to the surcharge at the turn of the year - but with the end of the traffic light coalition in Berlin, the corresponding amendment to the law is hanging in the balance. The German Ministry of Economic Affairs in Berlin counts the abolition of the gas storage levy at border crossing points among the urgent legislative projects that should be passed before the federal elections at the end of February.

On Tuesday, the Czech news agency CTK reported, citing the Ministry of Industry in Prague, that only the Bundestag still has to give its approval. This will happen by the beginning of January at the latest, it said. If this happens in January, it would apply retroactively from the beginning of the year, said Czech Deputy Minister of Industry Stepan Hofman.

Gewessler keeps lawsuit against Germany open
The levy for transports from Germany will increase by almost 20 percent to EUR 2.99 per megawatt hour (MWh) from January 1, making gas transfers in Europe more expensive. The toll was introduced during the energy crisis in order to pass on the costs of gas storage in Germany to users. In addition to the Czech Republic, other countries such as Slovakia and Austria are also pushing for the toll to be lifted quickly.

Only yesterday, Monday, Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler renewed her criticism of the gas storage levy. The Green politician emphasized on the fringes of a meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels that she was confident in this regard, but was still keeping the option of taking legal action open.