In 2024 a quarter of the bill
Network fees for electricity customers are rising massively
November 8, 2023, 2:07 a.m
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Saving helps against high electricity prices. But at the same time, electricity customers also bear the costs for the network operators. These fees are expected to increase by ten percent in 2024. The Union criticizes the fact that the federal government has no response to such excesses.
Private households in Germany will have to pay almost eleven percent more for electricity network fees next year. For typical household customers with an annual consumption of 3,500 kilowatt hours, network fees are expected to rise by 10.6 percent or 1.03 cents per kilowatt hour in 2024, according to the Federal Ministry of Economics’ response to a small question from the Union parliamentary group. It is available from the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post”.
“In the sample evaluated, a household customer with 3,500 kilowatt hours of annual consumption pays an average network fee of 341 euros net in 2023 and 377 euros net in 2024,” said the ministry. For network transmission alone, electricity customers will pay 36 euros more next year than in 2023. The network fees already account for more than a quarter of the total electricity costs. The further increase in fees is not only putting a strain on private households, but also increasingly on commercial customers and industry. In order to slow down the cost dynamics, the federal government pays the transmission system operators a subsidy. With 5.5 billion euros from the economic stabilization fund, it should be around 300 million euros less in 2024 than in 2023, according to the answer.
Interventions in the power grid cost three billion euros
According to the ministry, the so-called redispatch costs that electricity customers have to bear alone will account for 27 percent of the transmission system operators’ total network fees in the coming year. This corresponds to three billion euros – a new record value. Last year, redispatch costs amounted to 2.2 billion euros. Redispatch means intervention by transmission system operators in the generation output of power plants. They instruct power plant operators to reduce their generation where there is too much electricity and to generate more where there is a lack of electricity. They have to compensate for these interventions; electricity customers pay the costs.
“The electricity costs are rising and rising, but the traffic light government cannot find an answer. It can neither agree on fundamental relief for everyone through a reduction in electricity tax, nor does it have a solution for industry and medium-sized businesses,” criticized Union parliamentary group vice-president Jens Spahn.