Monitoring Report 2013 of the Bundesnetzagentur and the Bundeskartellamt

Bonn, 19 December 2013: Today the Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency) and the Bundeskartellamt presented their joint Monitoring Report 2013 on developments in the German electricity and gas markets in 2012.
With the Monitoring Report 2013 the Bundesnetzagentur and the Bundeskartellamt are continuing their cooperation in monitoring and analysing the grid-bound energy markets which they began last year.

The energy markets in Germany are undergoing a fundamental change. The driving force of this change is the continuing expansion of electricity generation capacities derived from renewable energies. This makes significant network expansion necessary. The far-reaching developments in energy generation and networks also have an impact on the competitive downstream markets and hence on the consumers.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: "The traditional energy generation structure in Germany is under immense pressure. We are seeing a radical change in generation mix: conventional electricity generation is being replaced by renewable energies. The problem here is that renewable energies need not prove themselves in the market because they are protected by law and subsidies. Consumers bear the increasing costs via the constantly increasing EEG surcharge. A possible solution could be to exclude new renewable energy plants from the subsidy mechanism and integrate them into the market by making direct marketing of the energy they generate compulsory. This would send out an important signal. Wherever competition has developed in the energy sector it had a positive effect."

Jochen Homann, President of the Bundesnetzagentur: "The transformation of the energy system is leading to far-reaching changes in energy generation. This has a direct impact on electricity networks because the electricity derived from renewables mainly in the north of Germany has to be transported to the consumption centres in the south and south-west of the Republic. This requires an expansion of the transmission networks which are already reaching their limits. During the reporting period interventions undertaken by the transmission network operators in all types of electricity generation increased. In view of the current network situation such action is necessary to ensure network stability and security of supply."

For electricity wholesale and retail it is most important that supply via the networks is as free as possible from disruptions. In the reporting period there were positive developments in competition in both areas. In the retail sector consumers have a wide choice between different electricity suppliers. At the same time, final customer prices have risen significantly. The main reason for this was the increase in the EEG surcharge which has risen again from 2013 to 2014. In view of the large share which state-imposed price components make up of the final customer price, only a small part of the final customer price is formed under competitive conditions.

In the gas sector, underground gas storage capacities were almost depleted during the 2012/2013 heating period. Gas was fed in at an increased rate from early June 2013 so that by the beginning of November 2013 a gas storage level of over 90 per cent was reached. The retail prices for gas customers rose for households whereas there was only a slight increase in price for industrial and commercial customers.

The reorganisation of energy supply in the wake of the transformation of the energy system concerns primarily generation and networks. However, it has effects all along the energy supply value chain. In their respective remits the Bundesnetzagentur and the Bundeskartellamt shall continue to monitor and help shape this reorganisation process.

The Monitoring Report 2013 is available for download on the Bundeskartellamt´s website.