A gas levy on German consumers meant to help utilities cover the cost of replacing Russian supplies could change as soon as this winter, the managing director of German gas market operator Trading Hub Europe (THE) told the Rheinische Post newspaper.
THE had set the charge, which will be imposed from Oct. 1 through March 2024, at 2.419 euro cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) earlier this month.
The government wants to spread the cost of the levy to all consumers to keep companies liquid enough to maintain an intact gas market.
"Because of dynamic development, I assume that the levy will have to be adjusted as early as this winter," managing director Torsten Frank told the Tuesday edition of the newspaper.
"The levy can go down if the situation calms down, but it can also go up if, for example, Gazprom should cut its supplies further or if the companies' forecasts change," he said.
Russia will halt natural gas supplies to Europe for three days at the end of the month, energy giant Gazprom said on Friday, piling pressure on the continent as it seeks to refuel ahead of winter.
