Press conference: This is the government's plan regarding high energy bills, and Parliament will decide.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has called a press conference at 1 p.m. today regarding the government's proposal to help Danes pay their high energy bills through a plan to spread the bills over the next several years according to criteria set by the government. The government will invite parliamentary parties to negotiate the proposal tomorrow evening, Thursday.

The proposed plan aims to allow for the freezing of a portion of electricity, gas, and heating bills, enabling consumers to postpone payment of the amount exceeding the price level they paid in the fall of 2021. The remaining amounts would be deferred in installments over five years with interest. The government has not specified the interest rate, but according to Finance Minister Nicolai, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has called a press conference at 1:00 PM today regarding the government's proposal to help Danes pay their high energy bills through a multi-year bill installment plan, subject to criteria set by the government. The government will invite parliamentary parties to negotiate the proposal tomorrow evening, Thursday.

The press conference was attended by Finance Minister Nicolai Wammen, Climate, Energy and Supply Minister Dan Jorgensen and Employment Minister Simon Kollerup.

The proposed plan aims to allow the freezing of part of electricity, gas and heating bills, so that the consumer can postpone paying part of the value of the bills, which is the amount that exceeds the price level paid by the consumer in the fall of 2021, with the remaining amounts to be postponed in installments for five years with interest. The government did not specify the amount of interest, but according to the Minister of Finance, the interest may be around plus/minus 2%.

“We cannot protect Danes from all the consequences of Putin’s war,” Mette Merleba said during the press conference. “But we cannot just look at the fact that there are Danes who cannot afford electricity and heating this winter.”.

The government's proposal states the following:

• You can choose to postpone paying part of your bill by comparing the bills to the higher-priced bills during the fall and winter of last year.
• It is proposed to set price ceilings as follows (with the remaining amounts to be paid in installments): - Gas at 15.45 kroner/m³, heat pumps at 1.87 kroner per kWh, heating at 1.44 kroner per kWh, and electricity (lighting, etc.) at 2.99 kroner per kWh.
• It is proposed that a so-called price cap be applied for 12 months. After that, a 5-year repayment period is proposed.
• The government will also consider how to expand the scheme to include businesses.
  Source: Ministry of Finance.

The government is currently working on a plan that also includes small and medium-sized enterprises, with Labor Minister Simon Collerop expressing his sympathy for small traders who are facing challenges to keeping their businesses afloat and promising that work will be done to help them.

The ministers participating in the press conference also stressed that they are closely monitoring developments, and that next time they will introduce further measures to mitigate rising prices and thus help Danes during the coming winter.

Proposed budget
The government said it would allocate 45 billion Danish kroner to the scheme, which the Prime Minister described as the “most comprehensive” aid measure to date.

It is worth noting that the government has introduced a number of measures to help address rising electricity prices.

Such as issuing a heating check for 400,000 Danes, and a check for the elderly worth 5,000 kroner. Last week a reduction in electricity tax was approved (only a reduction of 4 euros was approved), and a cap was agreed on the amount by which landlords can raise rent during the next two years.