Grid Fee Reform: Food Industry Calls for Fair Conditions for Electrification
17 associations warn against perverse incentives and present a joint set of requirements for an investment-friendly grid tariff system
Alliance of Associations Warns Against Misaligned Incentives in the Reform and Presents a Joint List of Requirements for New Grid Tariffs.
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The Alliance of Energy-Intensive Food Industry Associations, a coalition of 17 trade associations, urges caution regarding the reform of the General Electricity Grid Tariff System (AgNes). Misguided regulatory incentives jeopardize necessary investments in electrification, self-supply, and operational flexibility. In a joint position paper, the alliance calls for a grid fee system that rewards actual contributions to the grid and treats small and medium-sized enterprises fairly.
“The grid tariff reform is not only a key decision in energy policy but also in industrial and utility policy. Those who advocate for electrification at the political level must not simultaneously hinder companies through grid tariffs. The reform must incentivize investments in climate-friendly technologies and specifically reward behavior that benefits the grid. Only in this way can competitiveness, security of supply, and climate protection be strengthened in equal measure,” explains Dr. Bernhard J. Simon, Chairman of the Federation of the German Food Industry.
The six core demands of the alliance of associations are:
- No rigid consumption thresholds: The alliance strictly rejects proposals to limit access to transitional arrangements to a minimum purchase of 10 GWh/year. This would exclude small and medium-sized enterprises from essential relief measures.
- A practical two-pillar model for flexibility: The proposals put forward so far do not do justice to the diversity of industrial processes. The alliance calls for a model with two verification options: There needs to be both “Certified Flexibility” for companies with limited process flexibility due to their production methods, as well as unbureaucratic access to “Flexible Grid Tariffs” for direct responses to grid signals. In addition, load shifting, load ramping, and electricity feed-in must be recognized as equivalent grid-supporting services.
- Safeguarding self-generation and hybrid systems: Existing investments in highly efficient self-generation systems (PV, CHP) and storage solutions require grandfathering. Furthermore, electricity volumes that are made flexible for grid services via power-to-heat and hybrid systems must be specifically exempted from grid fees.
- Planning certainty through reliable transition periods: Industrial investment cycles span periods of up to twenty years. A reliable transition period of ten years is needed for all existing users of the baseload and atypical load regulations, without discriminatory GWh limits.
- Preservation of industrial pooling: At complex interconnected sites, the joint assessment of grid fees for multiple transfer points must be preserved and further developed.
- Mandatory sample rate schedules: Far-reaching changes must not be implemented without a robust data foundation. Grid operators must submit reliable sample rate schedules by 2026 to transparently disclose the financial implications before a final decision is made.
“Especially when it comes to process heat, we see great potential for increased flexibility in the energy-intensive food industry. Grid tariffs can create incentives to invest in hybrid plants and thermal storage. This will enable our companies to switch flexibly between gas and electricity, thereby making an important contribution to grid stability and to reducing grid tariffs. “We are strong partners in the energy transition!” emphasizes OVID President Jaana Kleinschmit von Lengefeld. “This potential must be promoted and must not be blocked by new hurdles and inappropriate grid fees.”
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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