Steffen Bilger, the first parliamentary managing director of the CDU’s Union faction in the Bundestag, said he does not rule out a surtax on energy or direct relief for consumers. Speaking to the television channel “Welt” on Wednesday, he noted that the government has already taken steps to lower gas prices and will continue monitoring the situation at filling stations.
Bilger announced that new measures will be discussed by the coalition committee. “Many of the proposals we hear about sound good on paper but are difficult to implement legally. We should focus on what truly helps and what makes sense” he said.
He emphasized that nothing should be excluded. “We have already made strides in the coalition to ease consumers’ energy bills. For electricity, we cut the electricity tax and reduced grid charges. The increased commuter allowance also benefits those hit hard by rising prices” he added. He recalled that, contrary to what the coalition parties had promised before the election, the electricity tax cut at the start of the year applied only to industrial production, forestry, and agriculture-not to private households.
Bilger expressed support for Austria’s gasoline pricing model while acknowledging concerns about its effectiveness. The concern that the day’s first price could be set particularly high is understandable. “In the past, we have introduced measures such as requiring stations to publish their prices transparently so customers can check online where they can fill up cheapest” he explained. “But we see a risk that the current crisis is being exploited; German prices are noticeably higher than in neighboring countries, and many price spikes have occurred during the day. We must respond”. He therefore believes that implementing Austria’s model-setting a single price per day that can only decline-would help prevent price gouging.