Germany’s Federal Network Agency has published the determination of the spread of additional costs incurred in distribution grids with a particularly large amount of renewable electricity generation.
The relief will take effect on 1 January, 2025 and the definition provides a framework for identifying grid operators with particularly high costs due to the expansion of green electricity generation in order to ensure all electricity consumers share these additional costs more fairly.
“We are creating fair grid fees for the people and companies who live and operate in regions with a strong expansion of renewables,” said the agency’s president Klaus Müller. “The energy transition is a joint task, and investments in the grids benefit everyone.”
In December 2023, the Federal Network Agency consulted a key issues paper and in May 2024 the draft for determination. The model for determination was further developed on the basis of the results of the consultation. For example, data requirements have been specified and special features of network operation have been included, it said.
The determination is published at: www.bundesnetzagentur.de/BK8-24-001-A.
Estimates to compensate for the additional costs, the so-called rolling volume, and the concrete relief for individual network operators will be possible from mid-October, said the agency, which added it will also publish these figures.
The relief amounts will be refinanced by a surcharge for special grid use on the electricity price for all consumers, which will be published by the TSOs on 25 October.
The Federal Network Agency said it envisages a phased model, with the first step to determine whether a grid operator is affected by a particular cost burden from the expansion of renewables.
The Federal Network Agency defines a key figure for this purpose. This compares the renewable generation capacity connected to the grid with the consumption load in the grid area.
The relieved grid operators will receive financial compensation for the additional burden. The costs for this can be distributed evenly across all electricity consumers nationwide.
The Federal Network Agency intends to use the mechanism under Section 19 StromNEV. This already has the effect of balancing certain grid costs between all network users. The previous 19 levy is part of the electricity price.
It is currently used to compensate for lost revenues of a network operator that arise because certain consumers pay a reduced grid fee.
This existing regulation is now being built on with little bureaucracy and legal certainty. The significant relief for the affected regions is thus offset by manageable additional costs for all electricity consumers.