AgNes Draft Determination 2026: The Network Fee Reform from 2029 at a Glance

On August 6, 2026, the Federal Network Agency completed the Draft Determination on the General Electricity Network Tariff System (AgNes) submitted and put out for consultation. This means that for the first time, there is a concrete set of rules open for consultation—no longer just a discussion paper or an interim status. Associations and companies can, until the September 18, 2026 Take a stance; the final decision is still to be made 2026 issued. In principle, the new system is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2029, when the previous Electricity Network Charges Ordinance (StromNEV) expires.

The draft affects virtually every grid user: industry and large-scale consumers, prosumers, PV feed-in providers, battery storage systems, and, in the future, electrolysers as well. This article outlines the most important regulations—with a particular focus on photovoltaics and battery storage.

Important: The draft determination is not yet final. The following information refers to the status as of August 6, 2026, and is subject to change in the further course of the proceedings.

From discussion paper to draft determination: The AgNes process at a glance

The Federal Network Agency had already initiated the AgNes proceedings launched in May 2025 with a discussion paper – The trigger was an ECJ ruling that made independent and autonomous fee regulation by the Federal Network Agency necessary. At the end of May 2026, an initial interim status followed, which we classified in two articles: one on the basic capacity-price model and one with Focus on industrial customers. The current draft regulation largely confirms the general principles outlined there, but provides significantly more detail—for example, regarding deadlines, thresholds, and the treatment of storage facilities and generation plants.

Financing Fees & Incentive Fees: The New System Behind Them

A key organizing principle of the draft is the distinction between two types of fees:

• Financing fees ensure grid operators' grid fee revenue and cover their revenue caps.
• Incentive Payments are intended to encourage operators of storage facilities and generation plants to adopt grid-friendly behavior—such as avoiding peak loads or timing their feed-in.

This distinction runs through the entire draft and is important for understanding the following regulations: Whenever an “exemption” is mentioned hereafter, it generally applies only to the financing charges—not to all grid fee components.

Capacity Price, AP1, and AP2: The New Model for Industry and Large Consumers

For Extraction points with an annual consumption of over 100,000 kWh and for all connections above low voltage, the draft replaces the previous capacity charge with a three-part model:

• Capacity Price (CP) An annual price in €/kW applied to self-ordered capacity, which must be at least 10 % of the previous year's individual annual peak load.
• Working Price 1 (WP1) the regular work price for consumption within the ordered capacity.
• Work price 2 (AP2): a significantly higher energy price for volumes above the contracted capacity – according to the draft between 200 % and 350 % of the AP1.

Crucial: Exceeding it is always permitted, but expensive. The system is intended to encourage companies to realistically choose their capacity and actively manage peak loads – for example, through load shifting or the use of battery storage systems.

Prosumer & Low Voltage: In a Nutshell

For low-voltage consumers with an annual consumption of up to 100,000 kWh The familiar model consisting of a base rate and a usage rate will remain in place—the base rate will become mandatory in the future. For Prosumer (consumers with their own generating plant behind the same grid connection, excluding plug-in solar devices) is a basic price surcharge of 70 to 90 percent provided. Network operators must [allow] prosumers from the April 1, 2028 identify and inform electricity suppliers accordingly. For the core target group of this article—industry, PV investors, and storage operators—this part of the reform is generally not relevant.

PV Generators: Capacity-based feed-in tariff starting at 30 kW

For generating plants with an installed gross capacity of more than 30 kW (according to the Market Master Data Register) the draft provides for a new capacity-based feed-in tariff. In the future, the decisive factor will no longer be solely the amount of electricity fed into the grid, but rather the contractually agreed feed-in capacity in kW. This makes the grid connection sizing—along with curtailment and marketing strategies—even more important for PV projects. Transitional arrangements are provided for certain existing systems and projects with investment decisions made in a timely manner (see next section).

Battery Storage: Capacity Fees & Protection of Legitimate Expectations

For purely grid-tied battery storage systems does the draft provide for an annual capacity charge on the contractually agreed grid connection capacity – in the same amount as the feed-in tariff for generation plants. According to previous calculations by the Federal Network Agency, a capacity charge of approximately 4 to 7 €/kW and year to be calculated; the current draft does not yet specify a concrete amount.

Calculation example: A grid-connected battery storage system with a contractually agreed grid connection capacity of 10 MW (= 10,000 kW) would, under this framework, receive a capacity fee in the range of about €40,000 to €70,000 per year trigger. By contrast, consumption-based generation rates should not apply to the amounts of electricity that a storage system draws from the grid and—to the extent that this can be measured—feeds back into it: no double charge for withdrawal and feed-in.

Protection of Legitimate Expectations: Why Time Is of the Essence Now

For new storage facilities, there is no automatic continuation of the previous grid fee exemption. However, the draft provides for 20-Year Exemption from Financing Fees – however, only if the Final investment decision prior to the announcement of the AgNes designation was decided. The draft specifies the date of the announcement as January 1, 2027 provided for. This exemption does not apply to dynamic grid fees.

March 31, 2027, is not the deadline applies not to the investment decision itself, but only to the documentation of that decision. The decision must have been made beforehand.

According to the draft, the final investment decision is considered to be made when cumulatively:

According to the draft, the final investment decision is considered to be made when cumulatively:

• binding orders for plant components have been placed,
• at least this much 50 % of the investment volume cover and
• it is not possible to terminate the contracts without suffering significant financial loss (as a guideline, the explanatory memorandum to the draft specifies at least 25 % of the investment volume).

Acceptable proof includes, for example, signed EPC or supply contracts, binding purchase orders, proof of advance payments, or a supplementary shareholders’ resolution. Not Non-binding offers, reservations, letters of intent, a business case, or a simple grid connection request are sufficient—what matters is the actual contractual commitment.

Electrolysers: A Brief Outlook

In the future, electrolysers for green or low-carbon hydrogen will also be required to pay a special grid fee in the form of a pure capacity charge without any active power components. Anyone who, under the current Energy Industry Act (EnWG), would be eligible for a 20-year grid fee exemption under the current Energy Network Act (EnWG) will retain this privilege, provided that a final investment decision is made by the end of 2026 and proof is provided to the responsible grid operator by the end of March 2027—the deadline structure is thus modeled after that for battery storage systems.

Dynamic Grid Fees: The Timeline Through 2033

AgNes lays the groundwork for future dynamic, time-varying grid fees, but does not introduce them immediately—partly due to the slow rollout of smart meters. For storage systems, corresponding fees are to be introduced no later than Early 2033 be billed, for generating plants between 2032 and early 2035 (excluding offshore wind turbines). Transmission system operators must first establish a common platform for price signals; the Federal Network Agency is to determine the specific design two years prior to introduction. If this is not achieved by early 2028, the schedule will be postponed accordingly. For consumers, the agency does not intend to provide dynamic grid fees for the time being, but instead plans to further develop the time-variable fees pursuant to Section 14a of the Energy Industry Act (EnWG) (Module 3).

§ 19 StromNEV: Transitional arrangements for existing customers

The previous special regulations for atypical network use and base load will not be eliminated immediately:

• Atypical grid usage (§ 19 Abs. 2 S. 1 StromNEV) remains until 31.12.2031 applicable – for final consumers with an effective individual grid fee agreement as of December 31, 2028, at least one-time fulfillment of the discount requirements from 2026 to 2028, and an average consumption exceeding 10 GWh/year (2024–2027).
• Strip load & strip current (§ 19 para. 2 sentence 2 StromNEV) shall under comparable conditions also remain until 31.12.2031 applicable.

What happens next?

Associations and companies can until September 18, 2026 comment on the draft determination. The Federal Network Agency wants to [do the procedure] still 2026 conclude with the final determination. In 2027, implementation preparations will begin at the grid operators before the new system takes January 1, 2029 becomes effective. Changes compared to the current draft are expressly possible in the further process.

Frequently Asked Questions on the AgNes Draft Determination