Overview
- Lawmakers approved the abolition of the Gasspeicherumlage effective 1 January 2026, with final approval by the Bundesrat still pending.
- The federal budget and the Klima‑ und Transformationsfonds will cover roughly €3.4 billion a year, with officials keeping supply‑security safeguards and a legal option to reintroduce an emergency levy in reserve.
- The change is bundled with a planned €6.5 billion subsidy for transmission charges and a permanent electricity‑tax cut for producers, with total annual energy‑cost relief targeted at about €10 billion.
- The levy currently adds 0.289 cents per kWh; a typical household could save roughly €30–€60 from its removal, though utilities’ pass‑through is monitored and end prices may not move 1:1 due to other cost components.
- Regional providers including EnviaM, Sachsenenergie and Stadtwerke in Leipzig and elsewhere, as well as GSW in NRW, have announced price reductions from January citing lower procurement costs, reduced network charges and the levy’s end.