German regulator mulls variable electricity grid fees determined by load
Clean Energy Wire
Charges for using Germany’s power grid could in future dynamically change depending on its available capacity to transport electricity, according to a discussion paper by grid regulator BNetzA. The paper sets out how such dynamic grid fees, under which users would pay more when their local grid faces bottlenecks, could be introduced.
Grid fees are added to electricity bills to ensure grid operators can manage power transport and cover investment costs for expanding and modernising infrastructure. As grid congestion and so-called redispatch costs are trending upwards, future grid fees should not only serve to cover costs, but also guide electricity use, feed-in, and investment decisions.
The proposal “has the potential to remedy a fundamental flaw in the design of the German electricity market: the separation of market and physics,” said Philipp Godron, programme lead for power at energy think tank Agora Energiewende.
BNetzA’s discussion paper suggests applying dynamic grid fees to electricity consumers and producers – this could mean, for example, that solar photovoltaic projects pay higher fees to feed power into the grid at midday on sunny days, when there is oversupply. At the same time, negative payments would also be made possible, meaning that grid operators pay grid users to ease bottlenecks.
Initially, dynamic grid fees would only apply to the transmission grid level, with consumption and feed-in priced dynamically at the distribution level later on. The fees would be determined by grid capacities across 22 regions and set in quarter-hour intervals.
As a first step, BNetzA proposed for dynamic grid fees to apply to large standalone storage facilities, as these can easily react to price signals. However, the regulator foresees a gradual phase-in from 2029 at the earliest.
“Even if only applied to large batteries, this would be a remarkable reform,” said Lion Hirth, energy policy professor at Hertie School, on LinkedIn. “If this were really applied to all producers and consumers, it would, in my humble opinion, be the biggest reform of the German electricity market since liberalisation.”
Ensuring that flexible electricity use is accounted for in Germany's grid fee reform could allow for lower electricity bills, according to a group of energy providers and mobility services which provide dynamic contracts. Grid fees currently make up a significant amount of electricity bills, and minimising them could be made possible by examining cost efficiency, cost responsiveness, and cost drivers with regard to the time and place of grid use, they said.
BNetzA plans to discuss the paper with stakeholders in January 2026.
