The surcharge on the price of electricity to promote green power will be significantly reduced for consumers next year. The levy will fall to a good 3.7 cents per kilowatt hour in 2022 from the current 6.5 cents, government and industry representatives said on Thursday, according to agency reports. The reduction is also made possible by a federal subsidy of a good three billion euros. Without the billion subsidy, the levy would be around 4.66 cents in 2022. In 2021, the levy is 6.5 cents - but even this is only due to federal subsidies. Otherwise it would have risen sharply.

The operators of the major electricity grids plan to announce the amount of the EEG levy for the coming year this Friday. However, it is only one component of the electricity price. In the industry, it is expected that a falling EEG surcharge will stabilize electricity prices overall. On the other hand, procurement costs that energy suppliers have to pay for electricity have increased significantly.

There are several reasons for the falling EEG surcharge. According to an analysis by the think tank Agora Energiewende, the high gas, coal and CO2 prices have led to a sharp rise in the price of electricity on the stock exchange. As a result, far less money is needed from the EEG account to compensate for differential costs of renewables; renewables generate higher revenues on the market and the necessary subsidy amount decreases. In addition, the EEG plants of the early years, which still received comparatively high remuneration, have gradually reached the end of their 20-year subsidy period since this year: "The cost backpack of the EEG is thus becoming smaller and smaller."

What this means for the end consumer, the experts of Check 24 calculate. For a sample household with a consumption of 5000 kWh the electricity bill decreases annually by approximately 167 euro. A single with an annual consumption of 1,500 kWh would pay about 50 euros less. "The reduction in the EEG levy is good news for consumers, because the price of electricity is currently at an absolute record level," says Steffen Suttner, Managing Director Energy at CHECK24. "Nevertheless, a family will still pay 220 euros for the green electricity surcharge next year. A further, substantial saving is currently only possible by changing the electricity provider."

Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) will then also comment in view of the high energy prices. The ministry declined to comment on Thursday's statements. The surcharge on the electricity price, which in principle all consumers have to pay, is used to pay for the promotion of wind or solar plants.