These laws guarantee your electricity supply in Germany

To transmit electricity reliably to all households in Germany, there is a wide network branching into all localities nationwide. In order to secure this reliable network, power supply companies must use public transport routes for the installation and operation of power lines. Pursuant to the Concession Fees Ordinance (Konzessionsabgabenverordnung) power supply companies pay fees to the township and county of their customers. However, customers too pay for the right to use the electricity grid in accordance with the Electricity Grid-Use Fees Ordinance (Stromnetzentgeltverordnung). About 30 percent of the electricity price is comprised of grid-use fees, which secures basic electricity supply.

The Basic Electricity Supply Ordinance (Stromgrundversorgungsverordnung) governs the conditions of basic electricity supply guaranteed by § 36 Par. 1 of the Energy Economy Law (Energiewirtschaftsgesetz). This law also stipulates the right of power supply companies to charge for the electricity they provide. This ordinance simultaneously defines the conditions for replacement regulation according to § 38 Par. 1 of the Energy Economy Law and establishes basic rights and duties of power supply companies to provide safe, affordable, consumer-friendly, efficient and sustainable grid-bound basic electricity supply, which in the future will rely more heavily on renewable energy sources. Such energy sources now too have their own law, the Renewable Energies Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz). This legislation regulates the uptake and compensation of renewable energy by local network providers. Renewable energy can come from electricity sources such as hydropower, wind power, biomass, landfill gas, sewage gas, colliery gas or photovoltaics.

If heat instead of electrical energy is to be produced, special combined heat and power (CHP) plants convert the energy as required. The Combined Heat and Power Act (Kraft-Wärme-Kopplungsgesetz) seeks to achieve the reduction of annual CO2 emissions in Germany and includes benefits for producers of renewable energy. Taxes from the total power consumption in Germany cover the costs arising from the two last-named laws. But producing environmentally-friendly electricity also demands that energy be handled responsibly, so on 01.10.2009 German legislators passed the Energy Conservation Ordinance (Energieeinsparungsverordnung) stipulating standard constructional requirements for building owners to ensure efficient commercial energy consumption. Finally the Energy-Efficiency Labeling (Energieverbrauchskennzeichnungsgesetz) seeks to ensure better labeling of electricity and other resource consumption by household appliances by means of standardized labels and product information.

Since this legislation was passed appliances must be labeled according to energy-efficiency categories.

An overview of the most important legislation:

Basic Electricity Supply Ordinance (Stromgrundversorgungsverordnung)
Electricity Grid-Use Fees Ordinance (Stromnetzentgeltverordnung)
Energy Economy Law (Energiewirtschaftsgesetz)
Renewable Energies Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz)
Energy Conservation Ordinance (Energieeinsparungsverordnung)
Energy-Efficiency Labelling Ordinance (Energieverbrauchskennzeichnungsgesetz)
Combined Heat and Power Act (Kraft-Wärme-Kopplungsgesetz)
Concession Fees Ordinance (Konzessionsabgabenverordnung)