EC says Germany's green levy did not breach EU rules

Nov 25, 2014 - The European Commission (EC) said today it has determined that aid granted for green power generation under the German Renewable Energy Act of 2012 (EEG 2012) did not violate EU rules.

The purpose of Germany’s EEG 2012, which applied between January 1, 2012 and July 31, 2014, was to back renewable energy production through a surcharge paid by electricity suppliers and passed on to end consumers. The EU antitrust regulator kicked off an in-depth investigation last December to see if the support for renewable energy and the surcharge reductions that were granted in 2013 and 2014 to energy-intensive firms gave them undue economic advantage over their rivals.

The EC has now determined that the EEG 2012 did not breach EU rules because it was limited to compensating the extra costs of green power generation that surpassed the market price for electricity. The support comprised feed-in tariffs (FiTs) and premia for renewable electricity producers, the commission noted.

Also today, the EC said it has cleared most of the reductions granted to energy-intensive firms on a surcharge. The limited portion that did not get an approval referred to reductions that were above the permitted level. The excess now needs to be paid back by beneficiaries in order to remedy the distortion of competition.

The commission has also concluded that a commitment by Germany to invest EUR 50 million (USD 62m) in interconnectors and European energy projects would cover for any discrimination which electricity importers may have suffered previously from the EEG 2012.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.247)

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