Germany has to make extensive changes to its energy law following a ruling by the European Court of Justice.
The highest European court on Thursday fully upheld a lawsuit brought by the EU Commission against the Federal Republic.
Accordingly, the requirements of the EU Electricity Directive and the EU Natural Gas Directive have not been properly implemented in Germany.
In essence, the allegations are about the role of the Federal Network Agency as a regulatory authority. The Bonn authority is currently setting network charges for electricity and gas on the basis of rules that have been decided by politicians. From the point of view of the European Commission responsible for compliance with EU law, however, the authority is not independent enough - it should be able to act at its own discretion, i.e. without being bound by political guidelines. The ECJ allowed this: In its decision it calls on Germany to grant the Federal Network Agency more independence. Complete independence of the national regulatory authorities is necessary to ensure that they act impartially and non-discriminatory towards economic operators and public bodies.
The judgment should significantly strengthen the influence of the Federal Network Agency, which is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Economics.
The federal government must now put the calculation of network charges on a new footing and redefine the role of the Federal Network Agency.
In the energy sector and municipal companies, there are fears that the regulator could develop a life of its own and make decisions that could be detrimental to the economy.
There are initially no consequences for the end user.
In the medium term, however, this decision could possibly even result in somewhat lower tariffs for end consumers.
The Federal Network Agency is also responsible for regulating telecommunications and the post.