If you follow the news about the major utilities in the country, so it seems likely that the current prices for German consumers would actually fall. Because the position of the current giants like RWE and E.ON. is in its core business of electricity generation, more and more precarious.
On the derivatives of the Leipzig Energy Exchange EEX bobs the price at which the companies sell the electricity to their power plants, now stable at 35 euros per megawatt hour. The sale price is in more than 20 € less than the value of early 2011, before the nuclear disaster at Fukushima. But above all, were 35 euros in the industry as the last pain threshold beyond which no longer count themselves nuclear power plants. Nuclear power plants have, including fuel tax, variable cost of € 35 per megawatt hour, says an industry insider. Gas power plants are already unprofitable long with 50 to 55 euros. Only lignite whose variable cost he estimated at 20 euros, still leave to earn money. However, the capital costs of new plants not deserve even the.
However, consumers do not benefit from this price decline. The reason for this is the Renewable Energy Law, or EEG for short. This law, with its introduction in 2000, the wind and solar energy was given priority in the network is actually a success story. At least when it is measured on the goal of promoting the development of green energy. 2013 already came just over 23 percent of the electricity consumed by the Germans, from alternative energy sources.
And the requirements of the new federal government focus on growth: By 2025, it is in the coalition agreement, to solar, wind & amp; Co. to cover 40 to 45 percent of electricity production in Germany. Ten years later, to green power plants even reach 55 to 60 percent. But therein lies the problem. Because with the success of renewable costs are rising – and carry the electricity consumers. Their electricity bill, so the a three-person household is already risen from 2009 to 2013 by 24.3 percent. For thus does the EEG. Because wind and solar energy itself can not compete with electricity from coal, gas or nuclear power plants, the plant operator get fixed payments, which more than cover their costs – and the firm commitment that their power is removed guaranteed by the network operators .
The network operators in turn define the difference between the market price for electricity and the compensation to the consumer – the EEG surcharge. 2010 paid electricity consumers still 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour, then 3.6 cents in 2012, 2013 already 5.3 cents – and in 2014 finally 6.2 cents. This is due to two problems. First, the plant operators, the allowances usually guaranteed for 20 years. That is, it will still take years before the first beneficiaries fall back out of a charge, which charges pile up more and more
. Secondly, although the more wind and solar power flood the current market, the more drops but the price of electricity in the wholesale, the faster the levy. Because wind and solar power are fed primarily, remains less from the market left to compete for the coal and gas power plants. And when many coal and gas power plants compete for a shrinking share of the market, the current price drops. This in turn increases the difference to the guaranteed feed-in tariffs – and thus the EEG surcharge. Although the policy seeks to counteract years by deckelt the rewards, but they can not get behind.
The Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln (IW) has recently examined how the stress would develop if nothing changes. The forecast is sobering: The EEG apportionment could rise up to 8.1 cents by 2018 – and would then rise in a single year to 31 billion euros. The price of electricity for households could thus rise by up to 13 percent.
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