In the case of government energy price brakes, improvements are planned for companies in the catering trade, for example, which were affected by pandemic or flood-related closures. This was announced today from circles of the Federal Ministry of Finance.
So far, the energy price brakes for companies have used the consumption of 2021 as a reference value. In 2021, however, consumption was well below the normal level in many sectors due to the consequences of the pandemic and the protective measures imposed. An example is the hotel and catering industry. Added to this is the situation of companies from Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, which were affected by the effects of the flood disaster in 2021.
A change in the energy price brakes is to be decided by the cabinet on Wednesday. The plan is concrete: Companies that would have used at least 50 percent less energy in 2021 compared to 2019 and can also show notifications of corona or flood aid received should receive a one-off compensation from the price brakes. As a result, the year 2019 instead of 2021 is used as the reference year. Compensation must be requested. A de minimis limit of EUR 1,000 for electricity and EUR 10,000 for gas and heat should ensure that the focus is on real hardship cases.
