KARLSRUHE (dpa-AFX) - In the dispute over the tapping of surplus lots in the course of the electricity price brake, 22 affected green electricity producers have failed at the Federal Constitutional Court. Their constitutional complaints were unsuccessful, as the court in Karlsruhe ruled. In the exceptional situation, the redistribution of the surplus profits achieved had created an appropriate balance between the favored electricity producers and the burdened electricity consumers. (Ref. 1 BvR 460/23; 1 BvR 611/23).

The aim of the electricity price brake, which has now expired, was to relieve consumers in the face of the energy crisis and high electricity prices. Part of the electricity consumption was offered at a fixed, lower price. To co-finance the price brake, the surplus lots of electricity producers created at the time were partly siphoned off.

Excess profits or windfall profits refer to profits that were significantly higher than the companies' expected profits at the time. This was due to the extremely high gas prices as a result of the Russian war of aggression. Because gas-fired power plants were often the most expensive power plants on the electricity market and set the price for all other power plants, other types of generation also benefited from the high prices, while their costs remained roughly the same. Some of the surplus lots were cut from December 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.

This was contested by 22 operators of wind power, photovoltaic and biomass plants at the highest German court. They considered the capping to be unconstitutional. Overcoming the energy crisis is the responsibility of the state and should therefore be financed from tax revenue./jml/skf/DP/jha