The EEG surcharge, i.e. the power surcharge paid by German end-consumers to support renewable energies under the Renewable Energies Act (EEG), will increase by 8.3% in 2017, from €6.354c/kWh to €6.88c/kWh.
The increase is linked to the expansion of renewable capacities in 2016 and to the further decline in wholesale electricity prices. For 2017, the four German power transmission network operators, namely 50Hertz, Amprion, TenneT and TransnetBW, expect the construction of 5.3 GW of new renewable capacity, raising renewable power generation to 187 TWh, corresponding to about 1/3 of the planned 2017 electricity consumption in Germany.
The rapid development of renewable capacities since 2000 (+41 GW of wind power and +40 GW of solar capacity) has significantly raised the level of the EEG surcharge, from around €1c/kWh in 2006 to €6.24c/kWh in 2014. It declined to €6.17c/kWh in 2015, before increasing again in 2016.
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