Clean Energy Wire

Germany’s network agency has proposed that electricity producers, including operators of renewable energy installations, pay grid fees to contribute to the modernisation of transmission and distribution networks. “Contributions by producers to grid costs remain a desired option,” the regulator BNetzA said in a paper on planned reforms to grid rules, which aim to adapt fees to the “changing conditions” of the energy transition, such as the growing share of intermittent renewables. 

Electricity producers in the country have so far been largely exempt from paying grid fees, and a change would affect the business case for renewable energy investments. BNetzA said it currently favours introducing a “dynamic tariff” model, potentially by 2029, under which fees would vary depending on current supply, grid capacity, and the installation’s location.

Germany’s renewable energy federation BEE said that any reform should “reward system-friendly behaviour” by producers. This would require a clear definition of what kind of feed-in pattern supports grid stability, to give power producers clarity on support levels, grid fees and connection conditions, BEE head Ursula Heinen-Esser said. She added that a recently leaked proposal by the economy ministry to scale back grid access priority for renewables must not influence the BNetzA’s decision.

Energy industry association BDEW said it shared the grid agency’s goal of reducing electricity system costs and making grid use more efficient. However, it warned that the approach of dynamic tariffs must not conflict with existing renewable energy support legislation, and called for clarity for operators. 

“Raising grid fees for producers may seem logical at first glance,” said BDEW head Kerstin Andreae. However, the benefits would not outweigh the costs of implementing the BNetzA proposal, she warned. Widening the application of grid fees would create significant bureaucratic burdens and weaken investor confidence, she argued, adding that the BDEW would therefore reject the proposal in its current form. 

Ingbert Liebing, head of local utility association VKU, said a reform should ensure that grid fees are fair and practical. “Whoever uses the grid must pay an adequate share of the infrastructure costs,” Liebing said. While the goal should remain to expand renewable energy sources wherever grid capacities are available in the short term, dynamic tariffs would be too complex for a rapid and smooth implementation. “We need a system that makes the energy transition possible for utilities not only in theory but in everyday life,” Liebing argued. 

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung / Clean Energy Wire

Hundreds of residents of the German city of Frankfurt have made use of a scheme offering free public transport for one year in exchange for deregistering their car, according to figures seen by newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The scheme provides users with a free countrywide ‘Germany Ticket’ and was used nearly 750 times so far, the report said.

The policy motivates people to switch from cars to public transport, the city said following an evaluation after the first year of the programme, introduced in 2024. The premium applies to every adult living in Frankfurt who has sold or scrapped their car in the five months prior to applying. Recipients are not allowed to buy a new car for twelve months. The scheme was most popular among people aged 56 to 65. Almost two-thirds of applicants came from two-person or single households, and it was particularly popular among individuals with lower incomes, the data showed.

The municipality said the premium is also having visible long-term effects. Two thirds of users gave up their car entirely after receiving the premium and another third got rid of their second car. “Overall, car use is going down markedly and in a sustainable way,” said Tom Reinhold, managing director of the city’s public transport authority traffiQ.

The city emphasised that the scheme reduced CO2-emissions, increased parking space, and had economic benefits. The scheme cost 400,000 euros in the first year, but is likely to generate 80,000 euros per year in the future because people using it were likely to buy an annual public transport ticket, Reinhold said.

Germany’s transport sector is lagging behind when it comes to emission reductions, as it has repeatedly missed reduction targets. The sector is responsible for 22 percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The Germany Ticket, a flat-rate ticket for regional and local travel, introduced in 2023, has been credited with increasing mobility rates and reducing transport emissions.

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