Bundesnetzagentur starts consultation on reform of electricity network tariff system
Klaus Müller, Bundesnetzagentur President: “We are well on schedule to create greater flexibility and system efficiency in the electricity market. Following the consultation that has started today, we want to have a determination by the end of the year, which will give electricity market players two years to implement the future tariff system.”
Year of issue 2026
Date of issue 2026.08.06
The Bundesnetzagentur has today started a consultation on the final draft determination on the reform of the general electricity network tariff system (AgNes). The determination is planned to be issued at the end of the year. From 2029, it will replace the provisions of the Electricity Network Tariffs Ordinance (StromNEV), which will cease to be in effect.
“With this draft determination, we are taking a major step on the way to a future-oriented electricity network tariff system. In doing so, the Bundesnetzagentur is creating transparency and clear investment conditions for network users at an early stage. The draft determination implements the objectives we set ourselves a year ago when we began the process: to provide incentives to save network costs and, where possible, reduce network tariffs, to put a price on capacity and thus to support flexibility, and to share the costs among more payers and allocate costs where they arise,”
said Klaus Müller, President of the Bundesnetzagentur.
The Bundesnetzagentur presented the status of its considerations to the public at large in a webinar on 27 May 2026. The regulations presented have now been included in the final draft determination.
The final framework determination is due to be issued at the end of 2026. More specific determinations building on it will follow in 2027. The draft determination has been published on the Bundesnetzagentur website at: www.bundesnetzagentur.de/1059162
Parties affected and stakeholders can read and respond to the draft determination until 18 September.
Background on the redesign of the electricity network tariff system
The majority of the rules currently applicable to calculating tariffs for network use are from the StromNEV, which was issued in 2005. New rules are needed for the allocation of the costs of network use in light of the huge changes in the energy system. With network and congestion management costs rising, some groups of network users are bearing an increasingly larger and others an increasingly smaller proportion of the costs. At the same time, electricity feed-in is becoming increasingly volatile and network connection capacity is becoming scarce.
The new rules are necessary because of a judgment by the European Court of Justice. The current statutory provisions (from the StromNEV) will expire on 31 December 2028.
Network tariffs cover costs amounting to around €37 billion a year. They make up about 30% of a household’s electricity costs. The network tariff system regulates how the costs are allocated. The Bundesnetzagentur issued decisions on efficiency and savings last year in the NEST proceedings for incentive regulation. Congestion management and network expansion costs are also to be cut by creating the right incentives for network-oriented behaviour.