German consumers learned how much extra they will have to pay for gas in the winter months

Berlin, the Gulf Observer: German consumers learned on Monday how much extra they will have to pay for gas in the winter months. Companies are currently not permitted to pass on their increased costs.

A winter gas surcharge, which will come into effect in October for German households and businesses, was set at 2.4 euro cents per kilowatt hour of electricity on Monday.

Gas prices have been driven up in no small part because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, prompting market concerns about energy security and also shortfalls in deliveries in some cases.

So far, consumers have been largely shielded from the increases, with companies unable to pass on their increased costs, but that is about to change.

An independent company called Trading Hub Europe, based in Ratingen, made the decision.

Just under half of German households are heated using gas, the most popular method by far in the country.

German dependence on Russian gas has become notorious this year amid the war in Ukraine, both for household power and for industry.

Finance Minister Christian Lindner has already said he aims to soften the blow by appealing in Brussels for the right to waive sales tax on the new gas levy. Doing this would require the green light from the EU.

“That will make a difference for people,” Lindner said.

The head of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries, Kerstin Andreae, argued that this did not go far enough. She told public broadcaster ARD it would be better to try to secure the reduced sales tax rate of 7% for all gas payments, saying that relief for consumers was “essential.”

Economy Minister Robert Habeck has estimated that the levy will end up costing “several hundred euros per household” annually, with higher figures set to mean added costs of more than €1,000 for larger households.