Government agrees on regional alignment of power grid fees

The German government has reached a compromise on aligning contested regional differences in power grid fees paid by consumers, according to the Social Democratic Party (SPD). “According to the draft law, grid fees will be aligned in four yearly steps starting in 2019 […] The agreement heralds a uniform grid fee and therefore a fair distribution of power costs on a federal level,” said Carsten Schneider, the vice head of the SPD parliamentary group, in a press release.
Grid fees paid by consumers in regions with a high share of renewables, mainly in eastern and northern Germany, are around twice as high as in western economic powerhouse North Rhine-Westphalia.
To avoid a steep rise in power costs for energy-intensive businesses, these will no longer have to pay for the connection of offshore wind farms in the future, according to the draft law. The government also agreed to keep certain support payments for smaller combined heat and power plants.

Find the SPD press release in German here.

For background, read the CLEW factsheets Power grid fees – Unfair and opaque? and What German households pay for power.