The controversial gas transit surcharge imposed by Germany will be increased again from July, the German operator announced on Tuesday (21 May), raising tensions with Austria and Brussels.
In the summer of 2022, when Russia cut off gas supplies to Germany, the government authorized large-scale purchases to ensure that storage facilities were well filled before winter. When gas prices fell, market operator Trading Hub Europe (THE) imposed a surcharge on gas flows to recover costs.
Starting in July, THE announced on Tuesday that the surcharge will be increased by a further 34%, to €2.50 per MWh. The announcement comes amid a prolonged standoff between Vienna, Berlin and Brussels.
Austria, supported by countries such as Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, argues that the surcharge hinders the move away from Russian gas, as non-Russian gas imported through Western Europe’s LNG terminals becomes more expensive due of the addition of the German transit tax.
Vienna argues that the tax violates the EU’s free movement of goods rule. When asked by a European legislator, the Commission said it was “closely monitoring the situation in the EU and is in contact with the German authorities regarding the legality of the gas storage tax”.
The German government has insisted in the past that the storage tax is in line with EU rules and contributes to the stability of the European gas market by financing annual storage obligations.
“We are continuing to hold intensive talks with the Commission and member states on this issue,” a spokesperson for the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action told Euractiv.
Trading Hub Europe, which manages the German market and is tasked with collecting the tax and keeping gas storages full, explained the increase in the context of a rapid decline in gas prices.
“In 2022, THE purchased around 50 TWh of gas at an average price of around 175 euros/MWh for injection into storage,” THE said, adding that while it managed to sell a quarter of the gas at 50% of the price of purchase, the remaining volume had to be sold for less than a third of the purchase price.
Among experts and industry associations, the accusation is rather unpopular.
“The European Commission should now move and put its foot down,” said Christoph Dolna-Gruber, an Austrian expert, adding that the tax has triggered a negative spiral: The reduction of gas flows through Germany in response to the tax, resulting in an increase in tariffs to recover huge losses in the gas trade.
Energy industry association Eurelectric, for its part, said the tax violates the EU’s free trade principles.
[A cura di Donagh Cagney/Zoran Radosavljevic].
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