Brussels gives the green light to German aid of 27,500 million to offset the cost of electricity

BRUSSELS, Aug. 19 (EUROPA PRESS) -

The European Commission has given the green light this Friday to Germany's aid plan to compensate companies that consume a lot of energy for higher electricity prices due to the indirect costs of trading emissions rights in the European Union, ETS , for its acronym in English.

The approval of Brussels to the German plan comes within the framework of the approval of similar strategies of Finland worth 687 million, the Netherlands, 835 million, and Estonia, 125 million. In its analysis, the Commission considers that the Berlin plan is "necessary and appropriate" to support companies that consume a lot of energy to deal with high prices and avoid relocating their production.

Brussels also points out that the German subsidies meet the conditions of the energy audits and management systems in line with the state aid guides for the ETS.

Specifically, the German aid will cover part of the high electricity costs caused by the price of coal in the costs of generating electricity, between 2021 and 2030. According to the European Executive, the support measures seek to reduce the risk that 'leakage of coal', that is, companies set up their production outside the European Union in places with less ambitious climate policies.

In the words of the Vice President of Competition Magrethe Vestager, the plan will help reduce the impact of the indirect cost of emissions in the industry and will limit the risk of relocation. "At the same time, the measure will facilitate a profitable decarbonisation of the German economy, in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal, while limiting possible distortions of competition", defended the Danish commissioner.

The compensation will benefit companies with a partial refund of the indirect cost of issuance from previous years, with the final payment scheduled for 2031, up to a maximum of 75% of the indirect cost. The aid is calculated based on the efficient consumption of electricity, which guarantees that the beneficiary companies contribute to saving energy.

Self-generated electricity from facilities put into operation before January 1, 2021 is not included in the plan, since there are other aids belonging to the German Renewable Energy Law.