Stromnetz Berlin publishes provisional grid fees for 2024
High energy prices cause slight increase
13.10.2023
Berlin households will have to reckon with a moderate increase in grid fees in 2024. Higher costs – particularly for the procurement of energy to compensate for losses – have led to a slight increase.
In concrete terms, this means that the grid fees for Berlin household customers in 2024 will continue to be made up of an unchanged annual standing charge of 39.70 euros and a sliding unit price of 9.21 cents per kilowatt-hour (previously 8.93 ct/kWh). The annual cost of metering for a modern meter (single tariff meter) remains the same at 20 euros. For the average Berlin household with an annual energy consumption of 1,950 kilowatt-hours (kWh), this means an increase of around two percent, or approximately 0.46 euros per month.
The causes of the slight increase in grid fees are, once again, high energy prices. All network operators across the entire country are affected by this, at both transmission and distribution levels. More precisely, to ensure security of supply in their network operations, network operators need to procure adequate quantities of energy to make up for grid losses and cover consumption. To this end, they purchase electricity using defined procurement processes. The prevailing high prices on the market are reflected in the network operators’ cost accounting – meaning that the passing on of some of the cost in the form of adjusted grid fees is unavoidable.
Federal government buffers prices at the transmission system level
For the four German transmission system operators (TSOs), the legislature has announced that it will once again provide federal funds – this time, to a total of 5.5 billion euros – to cushion the effect of cost rises, which would otherwise cause a much sharper increase in grid fees.
The slight increase in transmission system fees remaining after this injection of federal funds is already reflected in the network charge calculations that have been carried out by Stromnetz Berlin GmbH, meaning that all Berlin customers will also benefit from this state intervention.
(Note: There is currently no legal basis for the federal subsidy for transmission system operators’ grid fees.)
The grid fees are part of the electricity price and are levied in equal measure via the electricity rates of all suppliers active in Berlin. On average, they make up about one-fifth of the electricity price. Grid fees are made up of the costs for transporting electricity, costs of operating a meter, meter reading and billing and the cost of the upstream transmission system. The determination of the amount of the grid fees is carried out according to the specifications of the Electricity Grid User Charge Ordinance (StromNEV) and the Ordinance on the Regulation of Incentives (ARegV).
Under Section 20 para. 1 of the Energy Industry Act (EnWG), Stromnetz Berlin GmbH must publish the following year's fees for grid access online by 15 October of each year. The provisional grid fees are now available on our website. Stromnetz Berlin has hereby informed all suppliers and customers of the adjustment of grid fees. All of the published fees are provisional. They are subject to change before the effective date of 1 January 2024.