Bavaria is opposed to the Federal Network Agency’s proposal to introduce different electricity price zones in Germany. “Different electricity price zones would be a big mistake,” said Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.
Anyone who “encourages such zones lays the ax on Germany as an industrial location and endangers southern Germany as the industrial heart of the republic”. This threatens “further exodus of industrial companies from Germany and an economic descent”.
The Federal Network Agency is in favor of an electricity price reform with lower fees for regions with a lot of wind power. In Bavaria, but also in countries such as Baden-Württemberg, significantly less wind energy is produced than in northern German states such as Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony or Brandenburg.
Söder pointed out that in addition to wind power, there are other renewable energies where Bavaria does very well. Overall, Bavaria is therefore “the number one for renewable energies – both in terms of installed capacity and expansion”. Different electricity price zones would be “another traffic light attack on the south,” said Söder.
Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD), on the other hand, welcomed the considerations of the head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller. Electricity customers in the south are currently paying less than those in the north, Weil told the newspaper “Welt”. “For me, there is no question that this cannot remain the case in view of the necessary energy transition.”
The dispute concerns network charges, a type of fee for use of the line and power supply network levied by the local power grid operator. The grid fee finances the operation and expansion of the grid. According to the Federal Network Agency, this fee accounts for around one fifth of the total electricity price for household customers.
In regions with a high number of new wind turbines, additional investments in new lines and additional infrastructure are necessary, which affects the grid fees for customers living there. According to information from industry associations, the expansion of wind power is currently stagnating, particularly in southern Germany. Depending on the region, the construction of wind turbines is often controversial.
