01/12/2024
Source: Energy & Management Powernews
The energy platform Enportal considers the impact of increased grid fees on SMEs to be dramatic. Electricity can become six-figure more expensive.
Not a good new year for medium-sized companies in Germany. Due to increased grid fees, electricity costs for companies connected to medium voltage could rise by up to two thirds in 2024 compared to the previous year. In the worst case scenario, additional costs in the six-figure range can be expected.
The IT service provider and energy platform operator "enPortal" from Düsseldorf has calculated the new grid fees for metropolitan areas in five regions as an example. Differences result from the fact that the approximately 900 grid operators are allowed to charge different fees for their services depending on their location. The values have been listed since 2021 and allow a historical comparison.
The analysts from the Lower Rhine see "dramatic" cost increases for the companies. Based on a consumption of 5 million kWh per year, the percentage increase in electricity costs for medium-sized companies is highest in Dresden (Saxony) at 64.6 percent. Enportal calculates an absolute cost increase of €113,304 for a fictitious business compared to 2023.
Expenditure is rising at a similar rate in southern Germany. A medium-sized company in Munich has to pay around 110,000 euros more in grid fees, which corresponds to an increase of 57.5 percent and, according to Enportal, equates to an additional burden of over 135,000 euros over the past two years.
Although the relative increase in Frankfurt am Main is slightly lower than the Bavarian figure at 48.2 percent, the overall bill is higher. This is because medium-sized companies from the Rhine-Main region have already had to dig deeper into their pockets in the past and are now facing additional costs of a good 112,000 euros compared to 2023.
Although the price increase is noticeable in the Lower Rhine region, it is not as high. A company in Düsseldorf is facing additional expenditure of around 82,000 euros in 2024, which is an increase of 37.8 percent. In Hamburg, the increase is the lowest at 21.1 percent, with the sample company having to pay a good 47,000 euros more.
One explanation for the additional burden is a decision by the federal government. It will save the subsidy for the transmission grid fees from the economic stabilization fund in future. As a result, the transmission system operators (TSOs) and distribution system operators (DSOs) have recalculated their tariffs, which will take effect once they have been approved by the Federal Network Agency. This leads to the different regional effects that Enportal has now calculated as a model.
Enportal has published the "Grid fee analysis 2024" as an information brochure and made it available for download on its website.
Author: Volker Stephan
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