Berlin, Aug 23 (IANS): Twelve gas suppliers in Germany have registered claims for payments from funds to be collected under a new gas levy to be charged to consumers between October 1 and March 2024, the country's gas market operator Trading Hub Europe (THE) said.

The 12 companies, which include Uniper SE, RWE Supply & Trading GmbH and SEFE, the former Gazprom Germania GmbH, have made claims totaling 34 billion euros ($34 billion), according to THE.

"This does not yet represent an audited claim," the gas market operator noted on Monday. The figure is a forecast -- the actual levy passed on by companies to consumers could be higher or lower.

A spokesperson of energy company RWE told the German press agency (dpa) that the registration was a legal formality, Xinhua news agency reported.

"However, the company will not assert this claim. Nor does RWE plan to assert it in the future."

Gas prices in Europe are almost three times as high as before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. European TTF (Title Transfer Facility) gas futures were trading at around 290 euros per megawatt hour on Monday.

At the end of July, Russia further reduced gas supplies to Germany through the important Nord Stream 1 pipeline. The flow of gas is currently at 20 per cent of capacity, according to the latest update by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA).

To ease the burden on consumers, the German government plans to reduce the value-added tax on gas from 19 to 7 per cent for as long as the gas levy applies.

"With this step, we are providing relief to gas customers that is far greater on the whole than the additional amount that arises due to the surcharges," Chancellor Olaf Scholz said last week when announcing the measure. (1 euro = $1)