German minister wants more firms eligible for electricity relief, FT says

German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche wants to make planned measures aimed at lowering companies' electricity costs more widely available than previously suggested, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing people with knowledge of the plan.

Earlier this year, Germany's ruling coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats agreed to cut electricity tax to the European minimum for all consumers.

But the Finance Ministry's framework budget for 2026 introduced last month limited the planned relief to industry, agriculture and forestry, excluding many companies and consumers, citing financial difficulties.

Reiche said last month Germany would present a concrete concept for an industrial electricity price before the summer break and aimed to implement it by the end of the year.

The FT said Reiche wants to expand the number of companies eligible for what it called electricity price subsidies to 2,200 from 350. The paper added that the people it cited estimated the cost at 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion) and the measure would fund up to half of firms' electricity costs over three years.

Asked for comment by Reuters, the Economy Ministry said in a statement that under newly announced European Union rules up to around 2,200 "energy- and trade-intensive" companies could receive aid to cover up to half their power costs.

"The (German) concept is currently being worked on," it added, declining to elaborate.

The FT quoted the ministry as saying its scheme would aim to deliver "swift and reliable" aid to the chemical, glass and plastics industries, which have "a far-reaching impact on other sectors through the value chains".

($1 = 0.8490 euros)