BERLIN (AP) Renewable energy producers’ appeals against a 2022 government decision to use their excess profits to help fund a price cap on electricity were dismissed by Germany’s top court on Thursday.
22 producers of wind, solar, and biomass energy submitted a case to the Federal Constitutional Court, arguing that the state should have been responsible for funding the energy crisis that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Additionally, they denied that their facilities were a factor in the high cost of electricity.
However, the court determined that the provision was lawful under the unique circumstance brought about by the energy crisis.
Between December 2022 and June 2023, excess profits that many electricity generators made due to high energy costs were used to help finance an electricity price brake that capped the cost of some of the power consumed by businesses and consumers.
The policy was a component of a relief package that was drafted in response to the extremely high gas prices that increased overall energy costs due to the structure of the electricity market. As a result, some operators of low-cost fossil fuel facilities—including those that use renewable energy—saw abnormally large profits.
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