Century contract

This article explains the contract for the coal mining , for the contract for the acquisition of forests from 1915 see permanent forest contract .

The treaty of the century was an agreement signed in 1977 between the German energy industry with 44 companies and the German coal industry . He gave the German hard coal priority in energy production. A compensation payment was introduced for the costs, which was levied as a consumer tax according to the Electricity Act, the so-called coal pfennig .

history

In 1945 coal production fell from 130.2 million tons (1939) to 33.4 million tons. The consequence was a great shortage on the market, this "coal shortage" was the beginning of the small-scale mining . In 1947, the German Coal Mining Management (DKBL) was founded to direct the production of hard coal and lignite mining. In 1950, coal production was already back at 103 million tons, the mining industry were on 143 mines 433,359 employees created. The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was founded one year later . In 1954, for the first time since 1932, party shifts were held in the German coal mining industry . In 1956 the price control for coal was lifted by the ECSC. Just two years later, due to a lack of sales, party shifts were held again at six mines. In the same year, a fixed-term contract was concluded to restrict or eliminate the distortion of competition between coal and heavy heating oil, the so-called coal / oil cartel. In 1968 the law for the adaptation and recovery of the German coal industry was passed. In 1973 German hard coal production fell to 80 million tons. A year later, the third Electricity Act to secure the sale of hard coal in the electricity industry was passed. In 1977 a framework agreement was signed between the electricity industry and the coal industry. In 1980, an agreement of the century to secure hard coal sales to the public and industrial power industry until 1995 was concluded. This year 29 mines with 141,000 employees extracted 69 million tons of hard coal.

The contract

The main agreement of the contract, which was concluded between German coal companies and the German electricity producers, was that the more expensive German hard coal was used in the German hard coal power plants in preference to the cheaper imported coal. Initially, a 10-year contract was signed, and in 1980 this contract was extended to 15 years until 1995. The contract guaranteed the mining operators an annual purchase of 40.9 million tons of hard coal. In the coal round of 1991 this amount was reduced to 35 million tons. The price difference between German hard coal and imported coal had to be paid for by German electricity customers through a compensation payment, the coal penny, per kilowatt hour. This compensation payment flowed into a fund. This compensation payment was declared unconstitutional by the Federal Constitutional Court in 1994 and had to be abolished.

Follow-up regulations

As early as 1993, the European Commission had created a Community regulation for state aid in favor of the hard coal industry. Together with the laws to secure the use of hard coal, the Electricity Feed Act (the so-called Article Act) from 1994 and the amendment to the Atomic Energy Act, these regulations formed a solid legal basis for follow-up financing of hard coal use in the power plant industry after 1995. This law was in effect for 10 years from 1996 to 2005. The grants were capped at 7.5 billion DM, this amount was further reduced in the following years. In the follow-up negotiations on the hard coal subsidies after 2006, further subsidy cuts were made. This agreement was initially only valid for three years. In the coal round of 2007, a follow-up regulation to the Hard Coal Aid Act was created until 2018. The subsidies to be raised by the public sector up to this point were stipulated in the Hard Coal Financing Act. The law came into force in December 2007 and stipulated that subsidies for German hard coal mining would end in 2018.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Jürgen Klute: Structural change and industrial policy in the Ruhr area. P. 10–12, Online ( Memento of the original dated June 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed June 9, 2016). 
2. ↑ Johannes Ebert: The Chronicle. History of the 20th century until today, Wissen Media Verlag GmbH, Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-577-14641-8 , p. 574.
3. ↑ Joachim Huske: The coal mine in the Ruhr area. 3. Edition. Self-published by the German Mining Museum, Bochum 2006, ISBN 3-937203-24-9 .
4. ↑ ^{a b} Thomas Gregarek: Why subsidies for coal mining? University of Potsdam ( Memento of the original from January 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (last accessed June 9, 2016).  
5. ↑ RAG central area communication: retrospectives - insights - insights. BOSS Druck und Medien GmbH, Kleve 1996 ISBN 3-7739-1434-2 .
6. ^ Wirtschaftsvereinigung Bergbau eV: The mining manual. 5th edition, Verlag Glückauf GmbH, Essen, 1994, ISBN 3-7739-0567-X .
7. ↑ Answer of the state government to the major question 43 of the Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen parliamentary group: Coal mining in North Rhine-Westphalia .