Stromnetz Berlin GmbH publishes estimated fees for 2017

14.10.2016

Households and companies in Berlin can expect increased grid usage fees in 2017.

Households and companies in Berlin can expect increased grid usage fees in 2017. The grid usage fees for households – called load profile customers – will consist of a base price of €39.70 and a kilowatt-hour rate of 6.37 cents. There is an additional €9.95 for metering point operation, meaning that a household with an annual consumption of 2,200 kWh can expect to pay €20.26 per year in additional costs. This corresponds to an increase of 12% per year as compared to the current year.

The reason for the increase is the transmission system operator 50Hertz Transmission GmbH increasing their fees by around 42% as compared to the previous year, which Stromnetz Berlin GmbH must pass on to its customers. The cost increases in the transmission grid are being justified by the delayed line expansion and increasing costs of integrating renewable energy sources.

Grid usage fees are a component of the price of electricity and are levied by all electricity suppliers operating in Berlin. They account for around 25% of the price of electricity on average. Grid usage fees are made up of the costs for electricity transmission (grid usage fees), charges for meter operation, consumption measurement and consumption billing, and the costs of the upstream high-voltage grid. The fees are being determined in accordance with standards issued by the Federal Network Agency.

Under Section 20 Paragraph 1 of the Energy Economy Law (EnWG), Stromnetz Berlin GmbH is obliged to make the grid access fees it has determined for the following year available online by 15 October each year. The estimated grid usage fees can be viewed as of today at the website grid fees. The grid operator has informed all suppliers and grid customers of the grid usage fee adjustment today. The published fees are estimates. There may be additional changes up until 1 January 2017 until this comes into force.