Grid agency boss: "The era of cheap energy is over"
Consumers will have to dig deeper into their pockets for electricity and heating - permanently, according to the head of the Federal Network Agency. Klaus Müller defends the fact that the German government's austerity measures will result in additional burdens for households.
The Federal Network Agency expects electricity prices to remain high in the long term. "The era of cheap energy is over; at least as long as we continue to consume large quantities of conventionally generated energy," said the head of the agency, Klaus Müller, to the Rheinische Post newspaper. Although wholesale prices for electricity have "fallen significantly" compared to 2022, the price level is still higher than before the start of the war in Ukraine and "nothing will change in the near future".
Added to this are the higher grid fees from next year: the four transmission system operators Amprion, Tennet, Transnet and 50Hertz announced in mid-December that the grid fees will rise from 3.12 cents per kilowatt hour this year to 6.43 cents next year. The reason for this is that a subsidy of 5.5 billion euros initially promised by the German government will not be forthcoming after all.
Müller defended these cost-cutting decisions. This was a "difficult decision for the federal government", but no money can be saved without this having an impact, he told the "Rheinische Post" in view of the dispute over the budget. Müller stated that an average family household would probably pay around 120 euros more in grid fees per year as a result.
Müller also expects that the grid operators will quickly pass the costs on to customers. "Sooner or later, the costs will be passed on to all consumers, regardless of when the changes are implemented," he told the newspaper. However, there may be delays as some operators will not be able to switch their IT systems at the beginning of the year.
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The energy crisis has led the Federal Network Agency to predict sustained high electricity prices. In response to these predictions, the Federal Network Agency's head, Klaus Müller, supports the government's austerity measures, acknowledging that households will face increased burdens due to these measures.
Source: www.ntv.de
