Government levies on your gas price
What you should know about the gas procurement levy and gas storage levy
Currently, we are all confronted with an unprecedented situation on the energy markets. Due to global political and economic changes, the market prices for electricity and natural gas have increased significantly. The situation will continue to be like this for some more time - despite currently falling wholesale market prices - as the prices are subject to strong fluctuations. Therefore, all customers must be prepared for price levels to remain high. In order to maintain the security of supply with natural gas, the Federal Government has introduced two new levies on natural gas. We have put together important information for you on this topic.
Gas storage levy
until March 2025
0,145 cents per kilowatt hour as of July 1st 2023
The Gas Storage Act anchored in the Energy Industry Act (EnWG) § 35e and the Gas Storage Level Ordinance of 27th of July 2022 define how high the fill levels of gas storage facilities in Germany must be on certain key dates. The levy is used to meet the legal requirements for storage levels. Its amount is reviewed at fixed points in time and changed if necessary.
The aim is to be able to ensure the supply in Germany at all times by means of full gas storage facilities.
The levy is to be paid for each kilowatt hour of natural gas consumed and is legally valid until 31st of March 2025.
Values and changes
since 1st of October 2022 = 0,059 ct/kWh
from 1st of July 2023 = 0,145 ct/kWh
Already existing taxes, fees and levies on natural gas
info Fees, levies and taxes make up around 1/3 of the natural gas price
This is a levy paid to the municipalities in order to be able to use public roads and areas for pipelines. The amount of the concession fee varies depending on the type of gas supply and the population of the municipality. The Ordinance on Concession Charges for Electricity and Gas (Concession Charges Ordinance - KAV) constitutes the basis for said fee.
The natural gas tax is a legally regulated consumption tax that has been levied since 1999 based on the Ecological Tax Reform Act. The tax is levied on the consumption / withdrawal from the grid in the German tax territory. The energy tax for natural gas is levied by the energy supplier and then forwarded to the tax authorities. The natural gas tax currently amounts to 0.55 cent / kWh.
A levy to compensate for the expected shortfall arising from the use of control and balancing energy. The state-controlled levy is determined by the market area managers for gas and charged to the consumers via the gas suppliers.
The value added tax is due on net prices. In view of the high gas prices, the German government has decided to reduce the burden on the people in Germany by decreasing the VAT. Since the 1st of October 2022, the tax on gas consumption is 7% instead of the previous 19%.
| until 30th September 2022 | 1st October 2022 - 31st March 2024 |
| 19 % | 7 % |
The CO2 pricing is part of the German government's Climate Protection Programme 2030 and is intended to create incentives to transition to renewable energy or new technologies - e.g. electromobility - and to conserve energy. It is a price component of the natural gas price and must be paid by every customer. For 2023, the planned increase has been suspended and the price remains the same as 2022.
| 2022 | 2023 |
| 30 Euro / tonne | 30 Euro / tonne |
The Gas Storage Act anchored in the Energy Industry Act (EnWG) § 35e and the Gas Storage Level Ordinance of 27th of July 2022 stipulate that specific minimum gas storage levels must be reached on certain key dates. This is intended to help ensure a secure gas supply during the winter in Germany even if gas imports fail. In order to reach certain fill levels in the gas storage facilities, the so-called market area manager - Trading Hub Europe (THE) - is entitled to purchase gas as needed and to fill it into the gas storage facilities.
The incurring costs are financed through the so-called gas storage levy until the 1st of April 2025.
| 2022 | until 30.06.2023 | from 1.07.2023 |
| 0,059 cents /kWh | 0,059 cents /kWh | 0,145 cents /kWh |