The Federation of German Industries (BDI) is urging lawmakers to relieve the burden on the country’s struggling companies by cutting electricity costs.
BDI executive Holger Lösch told dpa on Friday that high electricity prices “endanger industrial production and jobs in Germany.”
“A reduction in the massively increased network fees as an immediately effective measure is urgently needed,” Lösch said.
The comments came as German lawmakers prepared to debate a bill proposed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s minority government to curb network fees and thus electricity costs.
The transmission system operators are to receive a federal subsidy of up to €1.32 billion ($1.4 billion) in the coming year.
However, after the collapse of Scholz’s three-party coalition, his administration no longer has a majority in the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house.
Politicians from the conservative opposition CDU/CSU bloc have already called the proposal insufficient and said their faction will not support it.
Lösch agreed that the government’s proposal to co-finance the subsidy for transmission grid costs for the coming year falls far short of what businesses need.
“Moreover, the government’s proposal is unclear in terms of financing and timing,” he added.
