Energy transition competence and digitalisation - Bundesnetzagentur now also measures network operators’ performance
Year of issue 2026
Date of issue 2026.07.15
The Bundesnetzagentur has today published another methodology determination as part of the NEST process. It relates to the future methodology of quality regulation for electricity distribution system operators (DSOs).
"We will set indicators for the reliability and performance of DSOs. The industry, consumers and regulatory authorities will then be able get a much clearer picture of the status quo. As well as the proven incentives to reduce interruptions of supply in the electricity distribution system, this will create new incentives for DSOs to improve their performance,"
said Klaus Müller, President of the Bundesnetzagentur.
Content of the determination
The determination is essentially a continuation of the existing rules on network reliability and sets incentives to uphold Germany’s very high security of supply level. What is new is that indicators for the electricity DSOs will be calculated and published each year to show how quickly and comprehensively the DSOs are realising the energy transition and the progress they have made with digitalisation. The indicators include network connection times and implementation rates for network connections. In addition, digitalisation indices will be calculated for each network operator.
The Bundesnetzagentur hopes that this will improve transparency and encourage more network operators to achieve an above-average performance.
Background to the NEST process
The Bundesnetzagentur launched the process for laying down new rules for calculating costs and revenues, known as the NEST process (Networks. Efficiency. Security. Transforming.), in February 2024. Network operators, network users and all other stakeholders had the opportunity to give their opinions and to exchange views at numerous events. The last step was to present the draft determinations to the federal states.
The new system of rules was necessary following a judgment issued in 2021 by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), according to which rules as are currently in place under the Incentive Regulation Ordinance (ARegV) and the tariff ordinances have to be laid down directly by the independent regulatory authority. The provisions from the tariff ordinances thus need to be replaced by determinations of the Bundesnetzagentur. The Grand Ruling Chamber for Energy was therefore established at Bundesnetzagentur to decide on the content of these determinations.
The determinations in the NEST process are available at Bundesnetzagentur - Overview of cost and revenue regulation, where webcasts (in German) may also be found explaining individual areas of application of the new regulatory framework in more detail.