Amid rising global energy prices, consumers and companies in Germany will soon no longer have to pay a special surcharge to fund the transition to renewable energy, according to a regulatory act adopted by the Berlin Cabinet on Wednesday, according to Agerpres.

Instead, the surcharge will be paid from the federal budget, said German Economy Minister Robert Habeck.

Electricity suppliers will be required to fully transfer to their customers the savings caused by the elimination of the surcharge. But before the normative act enters into force, it must be approved by the Berlin Parliament.

Originally intended to take effect in early 2023, the elimination of the surcharge for promoting renewable energy production has been implemented more quickly by the governing coalition due to rising energy prices. In addition, the conflict in Ukraine has led to rising fossil fuel prices over the past two weeks and there is little chance that prices will fall in the near future.

Currently, the surcharge for promoting renewable energy production is of 3.72 eurocents per kilowatt-hour. According to the calculations made by the Verivox price portal, thanks to the elimination from the bill, a household with an annual consumption of 6,000 kilowatt-hours will save approximately 133 euro.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner has estimated that the faster elimination of the surcharge for promoting renewable energy production will cost the federal government about 6.6 billion euros.