The Federal Network Agency wants to grant electricity and gas network operators higher returns and thus promote the expansion of the network for renewable energies. According to a new calculation, there could be a return on equity of around 7.09 percent for investments in new systems after the current 5.03 percent, the authority announced. For investments in old systems, the 5.07 percent set in October 2021 will remain.
Network operators such as Eon, EnBW and numerous municipal utilities have been demanding higher returns for a long time and point to the rise in interest rates and high inflation. The costs in the billions will be passed on to electricity and gas customers. The shares of Eon and EnBW increased by a good two percent. “We take into account the current development of the interest rate environment,” emphasized Netzagentur President Klaus Müller. For this reason, new investments should earn better interest and network operators should receive noticeable incentives for investments. At the same time, the portfolio financed at low interest rates over the long term should not be excessively remunerated. “The network operators’ returns are paid for by the network users, i.e. households, industry and commerce. The additional load there must be limited to what is absolutely necessary,” explained Müller.
The largest European network operator Eon spoke of a first step in the right direction. “The energy transition is accompanied by an enormous need for investment in the distribution grids,” said a spokesman. Millions of decentralized generation systems and new consumers such as heat pumps and wall boxes would have to be integrated into the distribution grid. This must be reflected in the overall regulatory framework. In the redefinition, however, the interest on existing assets is left out. The network agency announced that it would now give companies the opportunity to comment and make a decision by the end of the year.
The energy lobby association BDEW criticized that the higher interest rates should only apply to new investments. “The old interest rate, which is much too low, will remain in place for existing systems,” said Kerstin Andreae, Chair of the BDEW Executive Board. However, the network operators would have to finance the urgently needed new investments from the massively reduced earning power of existing investments. The network agency must improve. Investments of around 126 billion euros would have to be made by 2030 just for the necessary expansion of the electricity transmission networks.