Berlin.
The SPD is putting pressure on the Economics Minister: They want help for owners of oil heating systems quickly. The first details are emerging.
Anyone who heats their home with gas is now more relaxed about energy prices. The gas price brake will come into force on March 1st, and the cap on costs will also apply retrospectively to the beginning of the year. It is different for consumers who use oil, pellets or liquid gas: you may have one in December discharge over a Hardship regulation been promised, but what this should look like in detail – unclear. The federal states are now becoming restless and are demanding speed from the responsible Minister for Economic Affairs, Robert Habeck (Greens).
“Time is of the essence as December has raised expectations and people want to know what help they can expect and where to get it requests have to ask,” said Lower Saxony’s Economics Minister Olaf Lies (SPD) to this editorial team. “The Federal Minister of Economics must now quickly conclude the necessary federal-state agreement on aid for oil and pellets,” said Matthias Miersch, Deputy Head of the SPD parliamentary group. “The countries are in the starting blocks, or are even moving forward as in Berlin.”
Oil heating: Berlin starts its own aid program
The state of Berlin does not wait for the federal government and launched its own on January 31st utility for households and businesses that heat with oil, pellets, coal or liquid gas. You can get a one-time grant of up to 2,000 euros. “1,600 applications within two days since the start of the program prove us right,” said Economics Senator Stephan Schwarz (independent) of this editorial team. The Federal Ministry of Economics must quickly end the “hanging game” about the aid decided in December.
The traffic light coalition has allowed several weeks to pass since the announcement of the aid: After the responsibility within the federal government was initially open, it finally came to an end at the end of January Habeck received the order to develop the federal aid and to discuss the implementation with the federal states. A first video conference took place on Thursday. The federal states should have made it clear to Habeck’s ministry that they want to see results quickly. “We need the agreement with the federal government quickly,” Lies demands.
Hardship regulation: countries demand speed from Habeck
Hamburg’s Social Democratic Senator for Economic Affairs, Melanie Leonhard, wrote to Habeck in mid-January on behalf of the federal states with an SPD-led government, urging him to “emphatically” ensure that his ministry approached the federal states “promptly” with a proposal. In order to be able to implement the hardship regulation “in the interest” of the affected citizens, the federal states needed the necessary administrative agreement with the “as soon as possible”. Ministry of Economyit says in the letter that is available to our editors.
Help for households with oil, pellet or liquid gas heating poses great difficulties for the government. The consumption of a gas heating can be read off the meter exactly, is paid by monthly installments. Both can be easily understood and so the percentage capping by the gas price brake calculate. 80 percent of the forecast consumption will be made available to households at a price capped by the state of 12 cents per kilowatt hour.
Help for oil and pellet customers more complicated than with gas
Who, on the other hand, with oil or pellets heats, is supplied at long intervals. The burden of price increases can therefore differ greatly from household to household – depending on the time of the order. The costs and consumption are also more difficult to understand than with gas customers. The requests for help should be submitted to the federal states. Hamburg’s Economics Senator Leonhard therefore proposes working “with little bureaucracy and flat rates”.
According to information from this editorial team, the federal government is not planning that. The basis for the talks with the countries is that consumers want retrospective support bills must submit for the year 2022. In addition, applicants must submit an affidavit that the invoices they submitted are genuine and that the payments were actually made. Housing companies should have to ensure that any support paid is passed on to tenants. Trickery can be punished as subsidy fraud.
Maximum help should be 2,000 euros per household
The government wants the countries 1.8 billion euros make available to support consumers of “non-conducted energy sources”. In addition to oil, pellets and liquid gas, this should also include wood and coal. The amount of the reimbursement should be 80 percent of the additional costs in 2022 – if the purchase price was twice as high as in the previous year. However, sums of less than 100 euros should not be reimbursed, the maximum aid should be 2,000 euros per household. In order to clarify possible claims in advance, the federal government wants to provide an online calculator.
According to information from this editorial team, the Ministry of Economics announced in the federal-state switch on Thursday that it would present the states with a draft for the design of the aid by the end of next week. The administrative agreement will be “completed in the coming weeks,” said the Federal Ministry of Economics. However, it is not to be expected that the countries will have clarity on the payment before the end of February. “Now it’s up to the Minister for Economic Affairs and the state governmentsthat the aid can flow quickly, ”said SPD parliamentary group leader Miersch to this editorial team. “Many families, especially in rural areas, are waiting for relief.”
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