© BMWi; data from: own calculations based on data from www.netztransparenz.de and European Energy Exchange (* average futures market price of the preceding year)

Procurement costs (electricity market price plus EEG surcharge) have decreased for the second year in a row. This means that utilities can procure electricity – both from conventional and renewable sources – at lower costs, and that final consumers may benefit from reduced electricity bills as a result.

The EEG surcharge was introduced to cover the costs connected to the funding of renewable energy plants in Germany. The total costs equal the feed-in tariffs paid to renewable electricity generators minus the electricity market price. The cost difference has to be paid by the consumers and is passed on automatically to their electricity bill. This means that all consumers of electricity in Germany help to fund renewable energy. In 2015, the EEG surcharge made up around 21 per cent of the electricity price.