Anticipated substantial decrease in electricity grid fees for the upcoming year.
Expected Drop in Electricity Grid Fees for Next Year: An Analysis by Ene't
Preliminary data suggests that electricity grid charges for the upcoming year are set to decrease significantly. This assertion is based on the preliminary price lists released by several grid operators, as analyzed by energy data service provider Ene't. For private consumers with modest to average energy usage, the network fees are anticipated to decrease by approximately 8-10% compared to the current rates.
As of now, only 30 out of over 850 grid operators have shared their price lists. However, Ene't reports that many large-scale network operators are among them, thus, the data collected thus far represents over two-thirds of the federal territory. On average, network fees contribute around a quarter to the total electricity expenses for domestic households.
For a household consuming 4000 kWh of electricity, the network fees amounted to roughly 496 euros in 2021. According to the current data, this average value could decrease by 10.3% to about 445 euros in 2025. Commercial customers with a higher energy demand of 40,000 kWh per year are expected to see a decrease of around 12.5%.
The German Federal Network Agency updated its regulations for network fee collection in August, aiming to distribute costs associated with necessary network expansion due to the expansion of renewable energies more evenly. In areas with high wind and solar energy production, consumers have been bearing a significant portion of the network expansion costs.
Ene't's analysis reveals that network fees in wind energy-rich areas, such as Schleswig-Holstein, and photovoltaic-heavy rural areas of Bavaria, are projected to decrease substantially. Conversely, price hikes have been noted in areas like the Palatinate and urban Nordrhein-Westfalen. However, it remains uncertain if this decrease will be experienced nationwide due to the incomplete data situation.
Based on the analysis by Ene't, the anticipated decrease in network fees for private consumers could equate to an 8-10% reduction, which translates to around eight fewer euros per month for a consumer using 100 units of electricity each month. With over 850 grid operators, only 30 have shared their price lists so far, representing approximately eight-thirds of the federal territory.
