A green energy surcharge levied on German consumers to support renewable power generation is likely to rise next year, despite government efforts to rein in the costs of the planned transition to a low-carbon economy, green energy group BEE said on Wednesday.
The surcharge is expected to rise to between 6.2 and 6.5 euro cents, or a median estimate of a record 6.39 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), from 6.17 cents this year, said BEE in a study, ahead of the official announcement of the number by transmission grid operators (TSOs) on October 15.
The surcharge under the renewable energy act (EEG) had fallen this year, from 6.24 euro cents in 2014, the first decline since it was introduced in 2000.
The fee, which is added to consumers' bills, represents the biggest single item to finance Germany's "Energiewende" policy, amounting to a total 22.3 billion euros ($25.05 billion) in 2014, according to the TSOs.
Its growing size had created concern, leading to wide-reaching reforms to the system of rewarding green energy with above-market payments.
The 2014 reforms curbed incentives and set caps on green energy expansion, also mandating that it must be better integrated into the wholesale electricity market.
BEE cited two factors for the 2016 increase.
Firstly, the gap between guaranteed EEG prices and wholesale market prices obtained by mainly thermal power plants on power bourse EEX has risen, because EEX prices have fallen sharply amid a fuels markets slump. They are currently at 12-year lows.
The EEG provides for the difference between EEG support and market prices to be reimbursed under its intention to help relatively young technologies such as wind turbines and solar panels which were initially unable to compete with conventional energy on cost alone.
Secondly, Germany is adding more offshore wind capacity as new assets become ready for production, drawing support under the EEG.
The real eventual cost of the surcharge depends on weather
patterns -- which rule how much renewable energy is produced and
entitled to support from the EEG account only once it is fed
into the grid.
(Reuters)
