Good news for German consumers shifting to renewable energy—they will no longer have to pay the renewables surcharge on their power bills as of July 1st, 2022. 

The renewables surcharge was a necessary action that helped fund the country’s shift to renewable power over the past two decades. However, the German federal parliament (Bundestag) decided to eliminate the charge connected to renewable sources of energy for households and businesses in response to the shortage of Russian gas, the war in Ukraine, and the overall need to reduce dependency on fossil fuels.

The newly passed legislation would effectively remove the renewable levy added to power bills and as a result, an average German family can look forward to saving approximately 300 euros per year. 

According to the federal economy and climate ministry, the law also requires that electricity supplies lower their prices transparently by July. This is to ensure that only consumers will benefit from and be protected by the change.

Originally, the three-party government decided that the renewables levy, which as of now amounts to 3.7 cents per kilowatt-hour, would be abolished at the end of 2022. The current crisis and steadily increasing prices pushed the government to introduce the measure earlier.

Instead, payments to renewable installations will be covered by the state’s energy and climate fund, which also receives revenue from emissions trading.