Because of the energy crisis, Lower Saxony’s Economics Minister Bernd Althusmann (CDU) is calling for a digital platform that companies can use to get financial help easily. “During the corona crisis, there was a digital platform on which companies could apply for financial aid.
Such a platform should also be created for the energy crisis, so that affected companies can, for example, apply for a flat rate for the high energy costs in a timely manner,” he told the Tagesspiegel. “We have the technical possibilities, we have the experience from the pandemic. I don’t understand why we are not accessing these tools now.”
In addition, according to Althusmann, all taxes and duties on electricity and gas should be massively reduced. The Lower Saxony CDU top candidate is also pushing for a low industrial electricity price. “During the election campaign last year, Olaf Scholz demanded an industrial electricity price of four cents per kilowatt hour. He has to come now. Unless he doesn’t remember it.”
Althusmann warned of chain reactions in medium-sized companies due to the sharp rise in energy prices. The traffic light doesn’t have the problem on the screen enough.
The top candidate of the CDU, who wants to replace Stephan Weil (SPD) as prime minister on October 9, also criticized his CSU party friends in Bavaria. He advised the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) to focus on his own state when it came to fracking. “If Markus Söder wants to raise gas reserves faster by fracking, he can do it in Bavaria,” Althusmann told the Tagesspiegel. Söder recently suggested doing fracking in Lower Saxony.
“The proposal does not help, especially not in the short term, because unconventional fracking is prohibited and conventional fracking has not been used in Germany since 2012. It would take years to change that,” Althusmann said. The Lower Saxony CDU top candidate pointed out that conventionally recoverable natural gas is not only stored under Lower Saxony. Gas reserves also existed under the soils of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
