(Bloomberg) -- Germany is pushing ahead with its search for alternative suppliers to Russia for oil, gas and coal and preparing additional aid for consumers and businesses struggling with higher energy prices.

Russia’s war on Ukraine has exposed Germany’s heavy reliance on Moscow for energy imports, including about half of its gas and coal and around a third of its oil. Germany is particularly exposed as it’s in the process of exiting both nuclear and coal power while attempting to accelerate the expansion of renewables like wind and sun.

“Over the past decades, our dependence on oil, coal and gas from Russia has been increasing,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday in a speech to the lower house of parliament in Berlin. “Yes, we will end this dependence -- as quickly as possible.”

In a wide-ranging speech as part of a debate on the 2022 budget, Scholz said the ruling coalition is close to finalizing a second package of measures to ease the burden on households from surging energy costs.

The three parties in the ruling coalition -- Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats -- will meet later on Wednesday to seek an agreement.

“We will top up significantly our first package worth 15 billion euros ($16.5 billion) with additional measures in the coming days,” Scholz told lawmakers.

A subsidy for heating, granted to the most vulnerable households on social benefit and to students, will be doubled and aid will also be available for people and companies reliant on vehicles, he added.

Scholz also suggested that the pain Russia is experiencing due to sanctions imposed following its invasion of Ukraine will only increase. The sanctions issue will be discussed at high-level meetings in Brussels this week, including a European Union summit and a meeting of Group of Seven leaders, both attended by U.S. President Joe Biden.

“We see that the sanctions are working,” Scholz told lawmakers in Berlin. “But that’s only the beginning, most of the hardest effects will be seen in the coming weeks,” he added. “And we are continuously sharpening the sanctions further.”

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.