The Federal government of Germany agreed to set a cap on energy prices to relieve consumers and companies in the face of high energy prices and inflation on Wednesday.
The country agreed to put a limit on natural gas and electricity prices, Prime Minister Olaf Scholz announced at a news conference held following a meeting in Berlin.
The gas and electricity price cap will be financed through the Economic Stabilisation Fund (WSF), which was set up to help companies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scholz stated the cost of these new measures will total 鈧�200 billion.
Under the new decision, gas prices will be capped at 鈧�0.12 per kilowatt-hour from March 2023 until at least the end of April 2024.
A gas limit will be applied for large industrial companies from January. For 25,000 large industrial gas consumers, 70% of the average consumption last year will be subsidized.
For electricity, a price ceiling of 鈧�0.40 per kilowatt-hour will be applied to 80% of the previous year's consumption by households and small companies.
For industrial companies, the price ceiling will be 鈧�0.13 per kilowatt-hour.
In addition, a 鈧�49 per month public transport ticket will be provided nationwide from January 2023 to reduce carbon emissions and help citizens cope with rising inflation.
The 鈧�49 public transport ticket, which will be valid throughout Germany, will be funded by the federal and state governments and is estimated to cost around 鈧�3 billion.
Reporting by Bahattin Gonultas & Cuneyt Karadag in Berlin
Writing by Zeynep Beyza Kilic
Anadolu Agency
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