EEG levy for 2020 amounts to 6.756 cents per kilowatt hour
- Transmission system operators publish EEG levy and offshore grid levy
- EEG levy is 5.5 percent higher than in previous year
- Offshore grid levy amounts to 0.416 cent per kWh, which is a similar rate to the previous year
15 October 2019. Bayreuth, Berlin, Dortmund, Stuttgart. The four German transmission system operators 50Hertz, Amprion, TenneT and TransnetBW today published the EEG levy for 2020. It amounts to 6.756 cents per kilowatt hour (ct/kWh), making it 5.5 percent higher than the previous year (2019: 6.405 ct/kWh).
The offshore grid levy for 2020 was published at the same time. This refers to the costs for the expansion of the offshore grid in the North and Baltic Seas, which before 2019 were included in network charges. The offshore grid levy for 2020 remains at 0.416 ct/kWh (2019: 0.416 ct/kWh).
About the EEG levy:
The calculation of the EEG levy is based on the forecast of the expected supply from renewable energy sources in 2020, according to the German Renewable Energy Act (EEG), and of the expected energy consumption. For 2020 the calculations suggest a levy contribution of 23.9 billion euros. The EEG levy is paid by end consumers for each kilowatt hour used and is designed to promote renewable sources of energy in the power generation sector. The transmission system operators impose a levy in line with the legal requirements of the EEG.
For 2020, compared to the 2019 forecast, a further increase of energy from renewable sources of around 8.6 terawatt hours (TWh) to around 226 TWh is forecast (which corresponds to a subsidy of 26.2 billion euros). Subtracting the forecast share issue proceeds, which have increased by 1.4 percent compared to last year, and taking into account further costs or revenues, a funding shortfall of around 24.2 billion euros is forecast for 2020. This corresponds to a core levy for 2020 of around 6.8 ct/kWh. Of this, around 2.5 ct/kWh will come from photovoltaic cells, around 1.6 ct/kWh from biomass plants, around 1.4 ct/kWh from land-based wind farms and around 1.2 ct/kWh from offshore wind farms.
The final levy calculation includes the balance of the EEG account and the so-called liquidity reserves. The EEG account was 2.2 billion euros in credit on 30 September 2019. This positive balance in the EEG account in 2019 was taken into consideration when determining the EEG levy for 2020, lowering it by around 0.6 ct/kWh. However, since the account balance was around 40 percent lower than on 30 September 2018, this also led to a rise in the EEG levy for 2020 compared to the 2019 levy.
In 2019, the spot market price up to the publication date of the levy was on average around 8 euros/MWh below the legally determined price. A similar trend can be seen in the futures prices to the end of this year, which means that further losses can be expected. This means that the "starting level" of the EEG account balance in 2020 is considerably lower than in the previous year. Taking these factors into consideration, the liquidity reserves are set at 8.0 percent, related to the forecast funding shortfall. This puts them at around 1.9 billion euros in 2020. The share of the liquidity reserves included in the EEG levy amounts to around 0.5 ct/kWh.
The liquidity reserves serve to cushion fluctuations in the EEG account. These fluctuations arise from discrepancies between the forecast and actual feed-in of renewable energy. For example, a particularly sunny year leads to higher payments for energy from photovoltaic cells than would be expected in an average year. A fall in stock market prices means that payments for energy from renewable sources rise more sharply while revenues fall.
The calculation of the EEG levy is based on the forecast of independent experts in coordination with the German Federal Network Agency. This oversees the calculation, determination, publication and circulation of the EEG levy as well as the marketing of the EEG electricity, and regulates the relevant marketing requirements.
About the medium-term forecast:
Together with the EEG levy, the four German transmission system operators also published the EEG medium-term forecast (EEG preview). This comprises the probable development of the feed-in from renewable sources of energy according to the EEG over the next five years. In accordance with the legal requirements, the publication includes forecast data on installed capacity, the annual volume of electricity fed in, the financial subsidy to be paid to the plant operators, and end consumer sales. More detailed information about this can be found at www.netztransparenz.de/EEG/Mittelfristprognosen/Mittelfristprognose-2020-2024
About the offshore grid levy:
As well as the EEG levy, the transmission system operators also published the offshore grid levy today, in accordance with § 17f para. 5 of the German Energy Act (EnWG). The costs for compensation caused by disruptions or delays and for connecting the offshore wind farms in the North and Baltic Seas feed into this levy. The offshore grid levy is at a the same level as last year at 0.416 ct/kWh (2019: 0.416 ct/kWh).
The cost basis for calculating the offshore grid level is, on the one hand, the transferable costs for 2020 from compensation payments to operators of offshore wind farms and the forecast costs for building and operating offshore connection lines. On the other hand, it takes into account the difference between the actual transferable costs of 2018 and the balance carried forward from the annual accounts of 2018. For 2020 the calculations give a cost volume of around 1.6 billion euros. The end consumer amounts that are liable to contributions and thus taken into account for the calculations are based on the forecast values reported by network operators and the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control.
Further information can be found here:
EEG levy: https://www.netztransparenz.de/EEG/EEG-Umlagen-Uebersicht
Offshore grid levy: www.netztransparenz.de/EnWG/Offshore-Netzumlage/Offshore-Netzumlagen-Uebersicht/Offshore-Netzumlage-2020
Press contacts:
50Hertz Transmission GmbH
Volker Kamm, T +49 30 5150 3417, M +49 172 3232759, moc.ztreh05@mmak.reklov
Amprion GmbH
Solveig Wright, T +49 231 5849 13785, M +49 1520 8204961, ten.noirpma@thgirw.gievlos
TenneT TSO GmbH
Ulrike Hörchens, T +49 921 50740 4045, M +49 151 17131120, ulrike.hoerchens@tennet.eu
TransnetBW GmbH
Annett Urbaczka, T +49 711 21858 3567, M +49 170 844 8442, ed.wbtensnart@akzcabru.a
