Germany on Tuesday
offered to change a planned reform of its renewable energy policy, trying to
end a standoff with the European Commission over green power subsidies and to
meet a deadline needed to secure rebates for German industry.
In an amended draft law
seen by Reuters, the government proposed that German industrial companies
producing their own electricity in new renewable energy or combined heat-power
plants would pay a higher surcharge than previously planned.
Germany presented the
changes after the Commission raised new sticking points on Monday, undoing what
had appeared to be an agreed deal.
Solar- pannel houses in Germany
But Berlin indicated it
would resist EU demands to exempt imported electricity from an energy
surcharge.
Christian Democrat
deputy parliamentary floor leader Michael Fuchs said Chancellor Angela Merkel
would have to intervene with Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on the
issue.
"Our happiness
with the European Commission's behaviour in the last few days has been
limited," said Social Democrat deputy parliamentary floor leader Hubertus
Heil.
Germany had until
Tuesday to bring its green energy reforms into line with the bloc's competition
laws, including requirements to make heavy industry pay a surcharge for power
they produce at their own plants.
The Bundestag is due to
vote on the law on Friday after parliamentary groups approve it later on
Tuesday. German industry cannot apply for billions of euros of exemptions from
the green energy surcharge if Berlin misses the deadline.
So far energy-intensive
industries have been exempt from the surcharge, or have enjoyed large
discounts, something they say they need to remain competitive.
According to the new
draft, industry producing its own electricity in new renewable or combined
heat-power plants will pay 30 percent of the current 6.24 cents per kilowatt
hour surcharge in 2015, rising to 35 percent in 2016 and 40 percent from 2016.
Existing plants and
small plants such as solar panels on roofs would remain exempt from the
surcharge, while other new plants would pay the full surcharge. The plan until
now had been for industry to pay 15 percent of the surcharge.
"It would be a
massive own goal in terms of industrial policy if politicians were to put a
surcharge on own power production used by many sectors for decades,"
German industry lobby BDI chief Markus Kerber said in a statement.
"That's the
opposite of protecting confidence. German industry needs absolute clarity and
long-term security to plan."
The EU said on Tuesday
it had not yet taken a position on the reworked draft law but had no problem in
general with exempting households from paying the surcharge.
Subsidised renewable
energy, led by wind and solar power, have sparked a political debate in Germany
over high prices for consumers, who pay mandatory charges for green energy.
Af.reuters.com