The new package brings the total cost of aid measures Germany has put in place since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February to 95 billion euros — one of the largest bailout programs in the developed world. Speaking in Berlin on Sunday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the government would impose a cap on the profits of power producers who generate electricity from wind, solar, biomass, coal and nuclear rather than gas. Such companies made “excess” profits because the purchase price of electricity was determined by the price of natural gas. Revenue from the tax will put a “brake on the price of electricity”, allowing private households to enjoy a basic amount of electricity at reduced prices, he added. “Germany stands united in a difficult time,” Scholz said. “No one will be left behind.” Scholz’s government has come under pressure to help Germans worried about rising living costs and the prospect of much higher gas bills this winter as Russia chokes off supplies. Those concerns intensified over the weekend as Russia indefinitely suspended gas shipments to Europe via the critical Nord Stream 1 pipeline that crosses the Baltic Sea to Germany. Gazprom, the Kremlin-controlled natural gas exporter, said the suspension was due to a technical fault – a justification disputed by the German government. Western governments have accused Moscow of “rigging” its natural gas to drive up prices and punish Europe for its support for Ukraine. European gas prices are around 200 euros per megawatt hour — about 10 times the average level of the past decade. Scholz said he knew that “many Germans are worried about their future, about the high price of electricity and natural gas, about the rising cost of living . . . We take all these concerns very, very seriously.” Scholz’s measures were closely aligned with the European Commission’s recommendations: Brussels is recommending that member states impose a share of inflated profits generated by some electricity producers to finance support measures for households and companies. Scholz said that if the EU does not implement these policies “in time”, Germany will go ahead and reform the national electricity market itself. Solz announced the measures after 18 hours of negotiations between the three parties in his coalition – the Social Democrats, the Greens and the liberal FDP. He said the government would also allocate €1.5 billion to continue the €9 ticket scheme, which allowed Germans to travel for just €9 a month on all local and regional public transport during the summer months. A national ticket priced between 49 and 69 euros is currently being discussed. The government also agreed to make one-off payments of €300 to pensioners to help them with energy costs – a measure it said would provide €6 billion in total relief. Students will also be entitled to a one-off payment of €200 each. Child benefit will also increase.

Scholz said the government would also expand the number of people eligible for housing benefit to 2 million, from 640,000 today, and provide recipients of such payments with a special grant to help with heating costs during the winter. An aid scheme for energy-intensive companies to help with higher energy bills will be extended until the end of the year, the government said. It also said it would postpone by a year the planned increase in the price of CO₂ by €5/t which was due to take effect next January.