A retroactive law that would restrict a German gas storage levy so that it applies only to German customers is possible at start of next year, a German economy ministry official said on Thursday.

Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have urged Germany to legislate this month to waive a costly gas levy for neighbouring countries, as the collapse of Berlin’s coalition government risks delaying the law, a document seen by Reuters showed.

Berlin introduced the measure to cover the high costs of replacing Russian gas after Moscow reduced deliveries in 2022.

German system operator Trading Hub Europe has said the tariff will rise by a fifth next year on the assumption that the levy is restricted to German customers only.

“The proposal is in the parliamentary process. The parliamentary groups are working hard on implementation. Our goal is clearly implementation,” a spokesperson for the economy ministry said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa, Editing by Madeline Chambers)