Millions of Germans won’t be able to afford energy bills - NGO

Millions of Germans won't be able to afford rising energy costs this winter, president of German Tenants' Association warned on Monday.

Lukas Siebenkotten told Der Tagesspiegel daily that soaring gas prices will heavily impact lower-income households, which are already struggling to cope with increased cost of living.

"We are talking about millions of people here," he said, adding that government's decision to impose a levy on gas consumers will further increase living costs.

"We still don't know how much gas will Putin ultimately deliver, and how much the gas prices will rise again. But the government is planning to introduce a gas levy in October, and it already brings around €1,000 ($1,020) additional cost for each family," he said.