Operators fear court decision could hamstring investment in German power grids

A decision by Germany’s Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) to cap grid operators’ profits has led to a “revolt” in the industry, Michael Gassmann writes for Die Welt. Over 1,000 companies, including many municipal utilities, have filed a complaint against the BNetzA arguing reduced profits led to a lack of “urgently needed investments” in the grid, Gassmann says. The need for investment in the grid is evident from the increasing number of grid interventions to balance intermittent power supply from renewable energy installations, which cost grid operator TenneT, for example, nearly 1 billion euros in 2017, he writes. A family of four with average power consumption would have to pay around 40 euros per year in grid fees to allow operators to carry out the necessary upgrades, Gassmann says. On 17 January, a court in Düsseldorf will decide on the maximum permissible profits by grid operators.

Read the article in German here.

See the CLEW dossier The energy transition and Germany’s power grid for more information.