BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet on Wednesday signed off on a draft law that grants energy-intensive firms a partial rebate on a renewable energy surcharge after months of wrangling with Brussels.
The plans mean the controversial rebates, which industry has argued it needs to remain competitive especially with U.S. rivals, could remain around the 5.1 billion euros a year which are granted now.
According to the draft law, companies will not get the full rebate that is allowed by the European Union but will have to pay a minimum of 0.1 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity used towards supporting renewable energy.
Until now, the minimum payment for heavy energy users, including the aluminium and steel sectors and some big engineering firms, has been 0.05 cents.
(Reporting by Markus Wacket; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Stephen Brown)
