The German Association of Local Utilities (VKU) is calling for a new start for the energy transition in Germany. "In order to strengthen Germany as a business location, maintain acceptance for the energy transition and achieve the climate targets, a readjustment with a focus on cost efficiency is necessary," said VKU Managing Director Liebing. The association is making concrete proposals for action in a paper addressed to the future German government. It is intended to initiate a solution-oriented discussion on reducing the costs of the energy transition.
"There is no justifiable alternative to the energy transition," emphasized Liebing. "We owe it to future generations and also to our business location to become climate-neutral and move away from fossil fuels." The energy transition is currently at a critical point: without decisive political action that is strictly geared towards system and cost efficiency, the transformation costs would not be economically viable. "Overall, we see a great need for optimization that can reduce the costs of the energy transition for everyone," says Liebing.
For example, the VKU is pushing for a reform of grid fees in order to protect citizens and businesses from further cost increases. More and more self-generation is reducing the amount of electricity drawn from the grid. "Rising grid fees are the result, especially for customer groups with tight budgets and medium-sized companies," warned Liebing. For this reason, grid fees should be cushioned with the revenue from theCO2 price, geared towards fairness in terms of causation and focus more on the basic price. In addition, the electricity tax should be reduced to the minimum required by European law for everyone.
