The state demands a lot from its citizens with the energy transition.

But apparently he trusts them less and less at the same time.

Instead of limiting themselves to setting the guidelines for the green transformation, Brussels and Berlin are getting tangled up in small-scale regulations.

This increases bureaucracy and shrinks the scope for responsible consumers.

The two most recent examples are the EU plans for the taxonomy and the announcement by Economics Minister Robert Habeck that he intends to regulate the "very heavily liberalized" electricity market more closely again.

The taxonomy is about defining exactly which technologies and power plants are “green”. The money from large and small investors should then flow there, and if possible only there. The fact that the state-controlled investment strategy has its pitfalls becomes apparent even before the new label takes hold on the market. States enforce their special requests – nuclear and gas power plants. But it is possible that the specifications are so narrow that the new gas-fired power plants required in Germany for the energy transition can no longer be financed at all. In the end there should be new subsidies for the power plant operators, because the plants are needed. Then it is better to let responsible investors decide for themselves how to invest their money.

German electricity customers and the electricity market as a whole also deserve more trust.

Due to the high demand and the higher CO2 tax, the price of electricity on the exchange has risen sharply.

Many low-cost providers who calculated too quickly disappear from the market.

Consumers who first benefited from low tariffs and now have to switch to the more expensive basic service pay the bill.

Instead of waiting for this market shakeout and relying on consumers to take a closer look the next time they switch providers, Habeck wants to intervene directly and take action against certain business models.

He is right when he says that even low-cost providers have to fulfill their contracts.

But be careful: the customer benefits the least when politics stifle price competition again.