December immediate assistance: gas and heat suppliers can now apply for reimbursements

Approximately 1,500 energy and district heating companies can now apply for a reimbursement or an advance payment of December immediate assistance. The link to the online application portal for suppliers and other important information about the immediate assistance can be found here (in German): https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/DE/Dossier/Soforthilfe-Energiepreise/soforthilfe-energiepreise.html.

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck said:
“Our December immediate assistance gives direct and highly effective help to households and small and medium-sized enterprises. The Federation is footing the bill for the December instalment of gas and district heating payments. People should be aware that the consumers themselves don’t need to do anything: they benefit automatically from the assistance. The help reaches them via their gas and heat provider. Only these companies need to apply for the assistance.”

Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner added:
“The immediate assistance in December gives effective help across the board to gas and heat consumers. This is an important part of our efforts to protect households and companies against unreasonable costs due to very high gas and heat prices. The immediate assistance forms part of a systemic solution which fundamentally addresses the problem of high energy prices. We want it to enable a smooth transition to a situation with less volatile gas prices, even if they are likely to be higher than in 2021. This helps to keep healthy and competitive companies alive, to preserve jobs and to maintain prosperity.”

The Federal Government wishes to mitigate the rise in energy costs for households and businesses. The December immediate assistance offsets some of the increases in energy bills in 2022 and bridges the period until the planned introduction of the brake on gas and district heat prices in the spring. The assistance reaches the consumers via their energy provider. The Act Implementing the December Immediate Assistance entitles some 1,500 energy and district heating companies to reimbursement or an advance payment from the Federal Republic of Germany. These companies can now apply for the payment.