Merkel to defend power surcharge exceptions for major companies

Jul 17, 2013 - German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday vowed to uphold electricity price exceptions for energy-intensive companies despite the European Union's push to abolish such waivers.

Speaking at an event marking Bayer's (ETR:BAY) 150th anniversary on Tuesday, Merkel said the government would defend its policy to exempt large power consumers from the renewable energy surcharge designed to fund Germany's transition to green power.

Merkel's statement was prompted by plans within the European Commission, EU's executive arm, to remove such exceptions. The Commission is to decide on the issue in the autumn.

The surcharge is Germany's main instrument of funding its planned transition to renewable energy. It is calculated based on the gap between the wholesale power price and the guaranteed higher fixed price at which green power producers sell their electricity.

Germany's large companies are freed from the surcharge under the pretext that higher power bills would handicap them on an international level.

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