“Disastrous credentials”

The German Federal Court of Auditors’ criticism of how the economy ministry has managed the costs of the Energiewende is an embarrassment for minister Sigmar Gabriel, Thorsten Knuf writes in a commentary for Frankfurter Rundschau. “No idea of the actual costs, too little control of support programmes,” Knuf summarises the auditors’ allegations. While Gabriel managed to keep the electricity bill for customers largely in check, he failed to set incentives for reducing energy consumption in the first place, Knuf writes. “The presumptive candidate for Chancellor will have a hard time scoring with his energy policy credentials in the election campaign,” he adds.

For background, read the CLEW article Government lacks overview of Energiewende costs – auditors.