Higher grid fees due to accelerated depreciation

21.11.2024

According to the Federal Network Agency, around a third of gas network operators have so far made use of the accelerated depreciation of their pipelines permitted in "KANU 2.0". This increases network charges.

Existing gas pipelines often have a service life that extends far beyond the targeted date of Germany's climate neutrality in 2045. To ensure that builders and operators are not left with costs that they can no longer recoup through grid fees, the Federal Network Agency has introduced a new depreciation methodology. The "KANU 2.0" regulation stipulates that accelerated depreciation and refinancing is possible for gas grids that cannot continue to be used with renewable gases via grid fees that are already higher today.

According to the authority, one third of grid operators have made use of this option to date. This means that their grid fees will increase by an average of 20 to 25 percent. The Federal Network Agency expects that the early increase in gas grid fees will increase significantly over the next few years. However, the agency and the state regulatory authorities are having the application of the procedure justified and are monitoring the development of the grid fees, the agency assures at the same time.

Other reasons for fee increases

The Federal Network Agency is responsible for 146 gas network operators. A further 469 smaller gas network operators are regulated by the state regulatory authorities. The feedback received by the Federal Network Agency to date shows a similar picture to that of the network operators under the jurisdiction of the Federal Network Agency.

In 2025, there will also be other fee-increasing effects, the Agency also announced. Overall, the volume of gas sold, for example to companies, will fall and the fees charged by transmission system operators will rise (we reported). "Even without the KANU 2.0 regulation, fee increases of around 10 to 30 percent would have resulted," says the agency.

Heat planning programs gas phase-out

Due to various regional peculiarities, the increase in fees has proven to be plausible in most cases. In many cases, heating plans are already in place at a local authority level or corresponding scenarios with earlier target values, for example for 2038 or 2040, which make it necessary to adjust the depreciation modalities due to state-specific climate protection targets.

Other local peculiarities may include, for example, advanced planning for alternative heat sources or foreseeable declines in volumes. Network operators have generally been able to plausibly demonstrate that without the depreciation modalities applied, fees would no longer be sustainable at the end of gas network use. It is precisely this scenario that the KANU 2.0 regulation is intended to prevent.

Author: Susanne Harmsen, E&M powernews