The fees for using the electricity grid vary greatly in Germany – and are highest in Schleswig-Holstein. The municipal utilities located there are demanding further standardization of network charges nationwide.
A study commissioned by the Association of Schleswig-Holstein Energy and Water Management comes to the conclusion that for an average four-person household in Schleswig-Holstein, the electricity network costs alone amount to just under 27 euros per month – around 50 percent more than for a comparable Bavarian household . The additional costs for Schleswig-Holsteiners are also considerable in comparison to other federal states: Compared to the neighboring state of Lower Saxony, the costs are 33 percent higher and compared to Baden-Württemberg the difference is around a quarter.
“Our customers cannot understand that they pay almost 140 million more for the energy transition every year than if the costs were distributed uniformly and fairly nationwide,” says Andreas Wulff, Chairman of the VSHEW and Managing Director of Stadtwerke Brunsbüttel and Stadtwerke Steinburg . “With the increasing spread of electric vehicles and heat pumps powered by green electricity, the additional costs will rise even further. This exorbitant climate protection penalty fee cannot be politically desirable.”
High grid fees due to energy transition
The reason for the injustice is Schleswig-Holstein’s great commitment to generating electricity from renewable energies. Because for every wind turbine, every larger photovoltaic system and every significant biogas system that is connected to the grid, there are high connection costs. In the case of wind turbines, this is up to one million euros per system. These costs are currently being paid primarily by consumers in Schleswig-Holstein – even if the electricity generated then flows south.
The Schleswig-Holstein public utilities are therefore calling for a nationwide standardization of the grid fees on the third (high-voltage) level for regional distribution grids – as has long been the case with the nationwide extra-high-voltage transmission grids (grid levels 1 and 2).