Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck has announced relief for electricity customers from January. The Greens politician told the "Handelsblatt": "In any case, the relief in the electricity price must start in January at the latest. That's what we're aiming for." The federal government wants to implement an electricity price brake analogous to the planned gas price brake, which is to come for private households and small companies from March.

Habeck drew attention to difficulties in financing the electricity price brake. The government wants to get the money for this by skimming off "chance profits" from electricity producers.

"The skimming of the chance profits is an extremely complex task," the minister told the newspaper. "As with the gas price brake, we are working closely with the Federal Chancellery and the Federal Ministry of Finance. Normally it would take two or three years to do this. We have to do all of this in just two months during the crisis. We are implementing a political mandate, but it is dangerous."

Habeck continued: "Basically, it's about profits that the energy producers would never have dared to dream of. It's a question of solidarity that part of it serves the common good. But of course we're taking a close look at the effects on investments. We take critical voices seriously." The background to this are considerations that the federal government could also skim off profits retrospectively. This triggered massive criticism in the energy sector.

Regarding the gas price brake, Habeck said that the suppliers had explained to the gas commission that the price brake was not to be implemented beforehand. "But I'm sure they're working hard to see if there's anything else going on." The Commission had proposed one-off payments for December. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to explore an earlier start date for the gas price brake than March and had brought January 1st into play. He wants to consult with the energy suppliers about this, as he said on Saturday.

Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) said in the ARD program "Report from Berlin" on Sunday evening that it was currently unclear whether the gas price brake would be technically possible from January. "What I can say is that the funds are available now," he said. The FDP politician emphasized that the federal government is not only banking on money but also on "capacity expansion, such as with nuclear energy and coal". Lindner also emphasized on the show that the government is working flat out on the issue. "The government is not taking its time. We are in an energy war. Gas is being weaponized," said the finance minister. In this situation, the government is doing everything in its power "to protect the substance of our German economy and what has been built up over decades."

In the meantime, Union faction leader Jens Spahn (CDU) was open to suspending the debt brake again in the coming year in view of the energy price crisis. If Lindner credibly explains that there is no other way, "then we'll look at it openly," said Spahn on Monday in the ARD "Morgenmagazin". So far, the Union faction has always refused to suspend the debt brake. Spahn said that the traffic light coalition must first show that it is saving elsewhere - the citizen's income, for example, can be dispensed with. "If that's not enough, then you actually have to talk about this exemption from the debt brake." Lindner must first deduce this.