The European Commission (EC) has approved the progressive implementation of the renewable energy surcharge (EEG surcharge) for certain German power self-suppliers, which is expected to contribute to lower electricity bills for customers. The German Renewable Energy Act (EEG) provides support for the production of renewable electricity, which has been financed through the EEG-surcharge imposed on consumers procuring their power from the grid.
The Commission approves Germany's policy regarding exemptions and reductions of the EEG surcharge for all existing self-suppliers of electricity using renewable energy sources (operational before August 2014), new self-suppliers (operational as of August 2014) and new small self-supply installations.
The EEG surcharge is imposed on consumers procuring their electricity from the grid, while power generated by self-suppliers (for their own consumption) was exempt from this surcharge. This led to an artificial 'boom' in self-supply, with many companies switching to self-supply to avoid the EEG-surcharge. This threatened the financial sustainability of public renewable support, leading Germany to impose the EEG-surcharge also on self-supplied electricity as of August 2014.