Grid Charges for Battery Storage: Flexibility Needs Certainty

Written By Ecaterina Turcanu
Battery Storage Systems from Elements Green

In Germany, a major reform of grid fees is under discussion, which could impact the entire energy storage sector. The Federal Network Agency is currently reviewing its framework for electricity grid charges as part of the AgNes consultation. One of the proposals under consideration: ending the current exemption from grid fees for battery storage systems (BESS) from 2029.

Together with more than 20 companies from across the German battery storage value chain, Elements Green has co-authored a position paper urging policymakers to extend this exemption until at least 2034. The goal: to avoid regulatory uncertainty that could stall investment in urgently needed flexibility infrastructure.

Context: Regulatory Reform in the German Grid System

As part of the AgNes process ("Allgemeine Netzentgeltsystematik Strom"), Germany is revisiting how grid costs are allocated across system participants. While the reform aims to reflect today’s decentralised energy landscape, proposals to prematurely impose grid charges on BESS risk undermining their system value – and the business models that enable market-based deployment.

Battery storage in Germany currently operates without subsidies. Systems are deployed on a merchant basis, participating in energy and balancing markets, relieving congestion, and reducing redispatch costs. Their role is distinct from traditional consumers or generators – and this difference must be reflected in any future grid charging regime.

Premature Grid Fees Would Hinder Efficient Operation

The joint position paper makes clear: applying standard energy-based (arbeitspreisbasierte) grid charges to battery storage would create economic disincentives for their optimal use. It would introduce conflicts between different use cases – market, grid, and system services – and jeopardise the economic viability of storage projects.

Likewise, capacity-based models are not yet feasible due to a lack of consistent definitions, evaluation criteria, and regulatory standards for "grid-serving behaviour" (Netzdienlichkeit).

A Stepwise Reform Approach Is Needed

Elements Green and other key players in the sector – including developers, operators, manufacturers, and technology providers – are calling for a stepwise evolution of the grid charging system:

The exemption should be extended to 2034 to safeguard planning reliability and investment certainty. In parallel, industry and regulators can develop and test harmonised criteria for grid-friendly behaviour through pilot projects. Only then should a cause-based integration of battery storage into the grid charging framework be considered – one that fairly reflects the system value of storage.

Our Position

“Battery storage is not a conventional consumer – it is a prerequisite for a stable, renewable power system. Those investing in flexibility today are enabling tomorrow’s energy security. What we need now is regulatory reliability, not short-term policy shifts. Imposing grid charges from 2029 would only slow down this critical development,” says Michael Zimmermann, Managing Director of Elements Green Germany.

Signatories of the Joint Statement on Grid Charges in Germany

  • Elements Green Limited

  • Voltwise Power Holdings Limited

  • Erneuerbare Energien Fabrik GmbH

  • ABO Energy GmbH & Co. KGaA

  • MN projects GmbH

  • PowerWerker GmbH

  • FAVEOS SE

  • Aquila Capital Investmentgesellschaft MBH

  • Tion Renewables GmbH

  • BE ESS

  • enspired GmbH

  • MIRAI Power GmbH

  • Econergy Renewables Energy Ltd

  • 1st Flow Energy Solutions GmbH

  • suena GmbH

  • terralayr AG

  • BBD BigBattery Deutschland GmbH

  • STABL Energy GmbH

  • Voltfang GmbH

  • LEAG Gruppe

  • sdp energie GmbH

Ecaterina Turcanu
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