EEG surcharge falls to 6.405 ct/kWh in 2019
EEG surcharge falls for the second time running against continued growth in renewables
Date of issue 2018.10.15
The contribution charge next year to cover the costs of the electricity for which payments are made under the Renewable Energy Sources Act – known as the EEG surcharge – will be 6.405 cents per kilowatt hour (ct/kWh). This represents a decrease of just under 6%. Since 2014, the surcharge levels have been stable, despite an increase of 50% in the amount of electricity receiving RES Act payments over the same period.
The surcharge is determined and announced in mid-October each year for the following calendar year by the transmission system operators (TSOs) on the basis of expert forecasts. The Bundesnetzagentur ensures that the surcharge has been determined properly. The current surcharge is 6.792 ct/kWh.
Lower surcharge through higher electricity prices on exchange – low costs for new installations through reforms under RES Act
The reforms implemented in the last few years have led to a marked fall in the costs under the RES Act. The switch to competitive procedures and auctions has resulted in lower payment costs for new renewable energy installations in 2019. This contributed to the decrease in the surcharge for 2019, which can mainly be accounted for by the significant rise in electricity prices on the exchange.
Another contributing factor was the high renewable energy surcharge account balance, which stood at €3.65bn as of 30 September. This positive balance has the effect of lowering the level of the surcharge calculated for 2019.
Growth anticipated for 2019
The TSOs are expecting a further increase in renewable capacity of almost 6 gigawatts (GW) in 2019.
The amount of energy generated from renewable sources is set to rise to 217 terawatt hours (TWh). Overall, the TSOs are forecasting payments to operators of renewable energy installations totalling €33.1bn in 2019. This is set against a profit forecast on the electricity exchange of around €7.8bn for renewable electricity.
As in the previous years, next year's surcharge includes a reserve liquidity that serves to offset liquidity risks arising from fluctuations in renewable generation and unexpected developments, such as a fall in electricity prices on the exchange. The reserve remains unchanged on last year at 6%.
The surcharge makes up part of consumers' electricity prices. Since 2013, the price of electricity for private households has increased by an average of 0.4% per year and thus at a slower rate than general inflation, at 1.2% per year.
Information (in German) about the development of electricity prices for household customers up to 2017 is available at www.bundesnetzagentur.de/energie-rechnungen.