Germany plans to alter or repeal the country's controversial gas storage fee charged at border crossing points with neighbouring countries, a senior German official at the Economy Ministry told EU counterparts in Brussels on Thursday.
The levy was introduced in the autumn of 2022 and reimburses the company Trading Hub Europe, which is responsible for organizing the German gas market, for costs incurred to ensure security of energy supply.
Getting rid of the levy would significantly reduce the costs of gas transit through Germany and support joint efforts by Germany's neighbours to move away from imported Russian gas, according to Sven Giegold, the top deputy to Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
"We will be supporting greater integration of the energy markets in Europe," Giegold said.
The levy not only affects companies and consumers in Germany, but also importers in neighbouring countries that purchase gas via German pipelines.
Giegold said he assumes the levy will continue to be charged inside Germany to cover the costs of securing energy supplies.
The levy was last extended until April 2027. Beginning in July, it is set to rise from the current €1.86 ($2.01) to €2.50 per megawatt hour.
Giegold said Germany's government has agreed on repealing the levy. Because it would require a change to German law and could go into effect no earlier than the beginning of 2025.
He said that it was never the German government's intention to hinder the integration of gas markets in Europe.
"It's quite the opposite. This levy was used to finance the filling of gas storage facilities, which has helped us to maintain a more independent and stable market in Europe," he said.
Central and Eastern European countries in particular have criticized the increased transit costs caused by the levy, which makes importing gas from Western Europe more difficult.
