Self-supply of electricity saves municipal finances

22.04.2025

Source: E & M powernews

Local authorities can make more profit from their renewable energy systems by setting up their own electricity balancing groups. The Rhineland-Palatinate Energy Agency advises this.

Municipalities are playing a pioneering role in the energy transition. While many of them are now generating PV electricity from their own systems, some towns and municipalities are also looking at more efficient ways of using the electricity they generate themselves: the electricity balancing group model, also known as the energy region, can be used to create a regional network that is as energy self-sufficient as possible for renewable self-supply of electricity - and to save on electricity costs.

The Rhineland-Palatinate Energy Agency provides support. Consultant Frederik Staudt: "Particularly in the consultations of the Municipal Climate Pact, the desire to increase self-consumption of self-generated PV electricity is being expressed more and more frequently." This can be achieved with an electricity balancing circuit, he explains. An electricity balancing group is the balancing of electricity generation and electricity consumption using the public electricity grid.

The sustainably generated electricity in a municipality, for example from rooftop photovoltaics or the gymnasium, is offset against the consumption in various buildings - including those without their own PV system. In this way, only genuine surpluses are fed into the grid, while less electricity has to be purchased at high cost. With a balancing group, in-house electricity can be transported to other buildings via the public grid and consumed there. This reduces electricity costs, but there are still costs per kilowatt hour for grid charges and levies.

Implementation in Alzey

The town of Alzey is one of the first municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate to implement the electricity balancing group model. The Municipal Investment Program for Climate Protection and Innovation (Kipki) is helping with this. "We have already installed the first PV systems on our roofs with a total output of over 200 kWp using the funding from the Kipki program," explains climate protection manager Marcel Klotz from Alzey. In the coming weeks, the energy supplier EWR will connect the first buildings to a balancing group so that the electricity can be used in different buildings.

"Thanks to the favorable electricity generation costs of the PV systems, the amount of electricity shifted in the balancing group - initially 200,000 kWh per year - and the very low costs, we are creating good economic efficiency," Klotz explains. Another major advantage is that the municipality recognizes how much sustainable electricity it produces and consumes itself.

Involving citizens in low-cost electricity

To implement the electricity balancing group model, the municipality must meet a number of requirements: For example, electricity consumption must take place within 15 minutes of generation. This requires meters for recording power measurement (RLM meters) or special smart meters. In addition, the municipality can involve specialist planners if required and must commission a balancing group model service provider. This could be their own electricity supplier or the municipal utility company, for example.

In 2023, the Rhine-Hunsrück district generated almost four times as much electricity from renewable energy sources as it consumed. The local communities in the vicinity of the numerous wind turbines are already receiving lease payments from the project developers. However, District Administrator Volker Boch wants local people to benefit even more directly than before. Climate protection manager Uhle emphasizes: "The electricity balancing group also offers us an opportunity to sell part of the electricity produced by wind turbines to local residents at a low local electricity price."

The Rhineland-Palatinate energy advice service is available online.

Author: Susanne Harmsen