Regional cost differences amounting to millions due to BKZ

What parallels are there between the work of project developers and the small German statehood of the 17th century?

Anyone interested in old maps knows that Germany consisted of more than 300 kingdoms back then. Although there was no electricity back then, today's power grid is similarly subdivided, because according to the market master data register, there are 892 electricity grid operators. Unfortunately, this is not so nice for developers of (renewable) energy projects. You must overview the various processes for applying for a grid connection. For storage projects, this division is even decisive for the choice of location. This is because they also have to pay the so-called construction subsidy (BKZ), which differs from network operator to network operator. For example, 174.08 €/kW (net) is due for a 100 MW power storage system at Westfalen Weser Netz GmbH, but “only” 53 €/kW at the neighboring Westnetz GmbH. This makes a cost difference of more than €12 million for the project.

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Regardless of whether you are looking for network areas with low BCZ, expect the BKZ to be abolished soon, or simply want clarity as to which network operator the connection application should be submitted to, dvlp.energy helps project developers to keep track of things. Our user-friendly web GIS platform is always up to date:

• Which electricity grid operator is responsible in which area
• How high is the respective BKZ there

After all, small statehood in the 17th century not only led to bureaucracy and customs chaos. According to historical experts, it was also a period of cultural prosperity and fruitful economic competition. If that's not an argument that German power grid operators can create a cost-effective, stable backbone of our energy revolution.

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But why do energy storage systems actually have to pay BKZ?

• The BKZ is a one-time payment for the expansion of the general network, which a new end user to be connected must pay to the network operator.
• According to § 3 number 15d EnWG, storage systems are defined as “systems that consume electrical energy for the purpose of [...] temporary storage [...]”. Claims for payment of charges for final consumers therefore arise However, there is a transitional provision in Section 118 number 6 EnWG that “[...] newly built systems for storing electrical energy, [...] are exempted from charges for network access with regard to the purchase of the electrical energy to be stored.” This exemption is valid until 2029.
• However, in practice, this regulation is only applied by network operators for network usage charges accruing annually or per amount of energy consumed and not to the one-time payment of BKZ.
• Following a lawsuit filed by a project developer decided by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court On 20.12.2023, however, that the collection of the BKZ for battery storage systems is prohibited if the same BKZ is required as for a final consumer
• However, the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) has filed a legal appeal against the decision with the Federal Court of Justice and a decision from Karlsruhe is not expected until 2025

There is therefore currently a great deal of legal uncertainty about how to deal with BKZ in practice.