Portal operator sets new green electricity levy of 6.880 cents/kWh and enables transparent cost overview.

The increase in the EEG surcharge in 2017 to 6.880 cents per kilowatt hour will once again lead to higher electricity expenses for energy-intensive industrial and commercial companies from the SME sector. The portal operator enPORTAL has determined how much additional costs SMEs will have to pay in the new calendar year in its own EEG cost analysis for SMEs and evaluated it for ideal-typical customers with consumption of 1, 5, 12 and 30 GWh. The new value of the green electricity levy is now also stored in the online portal for all energy customers. Energy buyers can see at a glance what additional energy costs are associated with the increase in the EEG surcharge in 2017.

Increase in the EEG levy by 8 percent

The levy for the promotion of renewable energies, or EEG levy, was officially announced today by the transmission system operators and increased by around 0.53 cents per kilowatt hour. In 2016, the figure was 6.354 cents/kWh, and from 1 January 2017 the green electricity levy has been raised to 6.880 cents/kWh. Energy-intensive commercial and industrial customers who are not exempt from the levy will face a cost increase of 8 percent. Compared to the last increase of 3 per cent, the new figure again shows a stronger promotion of renewable energies. The reason for this is the low stock exchange prices on the Leipzig electricity exchange and the fixed compensation rates for operators of green electricity plants.

Increase in electricity costs for SMEs

In addition to private household customers, small and medium-sized businesses must also prepare themselves for rising electricity costs. enPORTAL has conducted a special EEG cost analysis for medium-sized businesses to determine how much additional costs will be incurred by customers of different sizes. Ideal sample customers with annual consumption of 1, 5, 12 and 30 GWh were taken into account. For example, a butcher's shop with an annual electricity consumption of about 1 GWh will have to pay a surcharge of 5,260 euros. It is more expensive for a paint manufacturer who, for example, needs an average of 12 GWh of electricity and has to pay up to 63,120 euros more for electricity. If electricity consumption is even higher, costs will rise accordingly. The analysis also explains the exact expenses and changes that SMEs will have to face and which enPORTAL tips energy buyers can use to save costs.

New green electricity levy stored in the online portal

enPORTAL has immediately updated the new value of 6.880 cents/kWh in the online portal, so that customers can view their electricity costs for 2017 with real values immediately after the official announcement. The portal operator had already provided a higher EEG forecast in July, so that customers could already plan their economic planning for 2017 with higher costs and not be surprised by the price increase. The complete data overview of grid charges, taxes, levies and apportionments in the portal supports customers in their cost planning and enables them to view the total costs for electricity as quickly as possible.