Germany to end energy price assistance in 2023

"This means that no more payments will be made from it next year. Electricity and gas price brakes will expire. These will also have to be terminated on December 31," Lindner added.

The government is scrambling for funds as it was caught off guard by last week's ruling from the Constitutional Court that upended the coalition's budget plans. The court decision left the federal budget with a €60 billion ($66 billion) hole.

The court ruled that Germany's strict debt rules do not allow the government to repurpose money originally borrowed during the coronavirus pandemic, when debt limits were suspended on an emergency basis, for climate change instead.

By the end of October, €31.2 billion had been provided from the fund, including €11.1 billion for the gas price brake and €11.6 billion for the electricity price brake, plus €4.8 billion for emergency aid for natural gas and €3.7 billion in subsidies for network charges.

Asked on the radio whether the state would step in to cover high gas prices in the coming year, Lindner said: "That is not to be expected. Such questions must be answered when they arise in reality."

It is "not to be assumed that we will have an emergency situation with electricity, gas and economic sustainability at the beginning of next year. It can therefore be assumed that there is no justification for an emergency. If it were otherwise, decisions would have to be made then," he said.

The Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) criticized the decision saying the "current chaos surrounding the federal budget" should not come at the expense of consumers.

"Private households will therefore face significantly higher prices," Ramona Pop vzbv chairwoman said.

The government introduced the price brakes in March 2023 and applied it retroactively to January and February.

The aim was to prevent consumers from being overburdened by soaring energy prices as a result of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the expected hike in energy prices.