How expensive is gas now?
The federal government has no influence on market prices.
However, it has an influence on how quickly and to what extent the sharp rise in prices can be passed on by the energy suppliers to the consumers.
Unfortunately, the traffic light coalition is still playing for time.
The level of the planned gas surcharge is a fear-ridden political issue.
It should primarily be based on what is “reasonable” and not on what economists now consider necessary to adequately slow down the use of gas.
This works best when the price clearly indicates the impending shortage.
If the state's economists have their way, the surcharge should therefore be 20 cents per kilowatt hour rather than the upper limit of five cents now mentioned by the Green Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck.
Admittedly, after gas only cost consumers about six cents for years, the indicated maximum requires some political courage;
Hundreds of euros quickly accumulate for a household.
But even the non-market-related surcharge should only be paid by customers at the beginning of the heating period in October - and will therefore probably not appear on the bill until November.
Valuable weeks pass in this way, in which millions of energy users are not forced to look the true price increases in the eye and quickly adjust to them.
At the same time, the traffic light navigates the cliff of the state elections in Lower Saxony, in which an SPD prime minister wants to assert himself.
This gas tactics contrasts with the seriousness of the situation, which the federal government has declared, as well as delaying the issue of longer operating times for nuclear power plants.
It seems as if they are speculating that the gas crisis in autumn will unexpectedly turn out better than feared.
However, it is easier to take back excessive precautions than to make up for missed steps.
The traffic light must now create the necessary price clarity instead of squinting at popularity.