After only brief political coordination, the so-called „Network packet“concrete forms. Following the leaked draft bill from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) in February 2026 and the first reading in the Bundestag in March, the CDU and SPD have now apparently Agreed in principle. The package of measures will largely proceed unchanged into the departmental coordination.
The Network Package 2026 is not a single law, but a package of regulatory measures with far-reaching effects on the energy market:
- Network packet
- EEG Amendment
- Electricity Supply Security and Capacity Act
This post provides a current overview – and contextualizes the central criticisms.
1. Network Package: Network bottlenecks are becoming the new normal
The BMWE's network package under Minister Katharina Reiche primarily aims to address the increasing pressure of volatile markets on power grids. However, the instruments are controversial.
Capacity-constrained grid areas
In the future, grid operators will be able to designate regions where more than 3 % of feed-in is curtailed. These „capacity-limited grid areas“ could affect large parts of Germany—particularly regions with significant PV and wind power expansion.
Critique
The 3-% threshold has traditionally been regarded across Europe as an indicator of a well-developed network. Even in Germany’s network expansion plan, this threshold is still considered the standard, and in 2025, Germany was in the European middle of the pack with a figure of around 3.5 %. Critics argue that this amounts to declaring a normal situation to be a problem.
Redispatch reservation without compensation
new production facilities in these grid areas fall under the Redispatch reservation and should in the future no claim for compensation Upon throttling.
Impact
- Significantly increased investment risk
- Potentially decreasing project financing
- Foreseeable legal disputes
Construction cost subsidies
Grid operators receive the right to, up to 15% of the grid connection costs to pass on to producers.
Classification:
The expansion of the grid
Maturity Level Based Grid Connections
Grid connections will in future be awarded based on project progress to avoid „blockages“ caused by immature projects.
Positive:
- More efficient use of limited grid capacity
- Faster realization of advanced projects
2. EEG Amendment: Market Integration Instead of Subsidies
Parallel to the network package, the EEG is being fundamentally reformed - with a clear objective: less support, more market.
Elimination of feed-in tariffs for small systems & mandatory direct marketing from 25 kWp
New smaller PV systems will receive in the future no fixed feed-in tariff anymore, but only the market value minus marketing costs. Furthermore, the threshold for direct marketing is being extended to PV systems from 25 kWp and is effectively becoming the standard.
Bilateral CfD from 100 kWp
For larger systems, henceforth a two-sided Contract for Difference (CfD)-Model:
- Market price > Bid value → Repayment of surplus proceeds
- Market price < Bid value → government compensation
Goal:
Predictable revenues while simultaneously taxing excess profits from renewable energies. Oil companies continue to be spared from an excess profits tax.
The current status of the elaboration of the CfD topic in Germany can be found in the article “Bilateral Contract for Differences (CfDs) in the EEG 2027: What Operators Need to Know Now“
3. StromVKG: Return to Capacity Logic
The new StromVKG (Electricity Supply Security and Capacity Act) addresses central elements of the failed Nuclear Power Plant Safety Act (KWSG) back again – albeit in a slimmed-down form. It primarily targets gas-fired power plants and is less technology-open. After SPIEGEL Information Minister Reiche therefore ordered further argumentation aids from the energy company EnBW in advance to justify the restricted tenders.
First tenders only for secured performance from 2026
- Two tender rounds (September & December 2026)
- 4.5 GW each
- Exclusions
- 10 hours of continuous power supply
- Back in stock in 1 hour
Only from the third tender, which will take place on May 18, 2027, will Large-scale battery storage are allowed to participate. Under what conditions is still unclear.
Classification:
The law continues to rely heavily on classic power plant logic – with a focus on controllable output rather than flexibility.
Criticism: Misincentives & Systemic Failure?
The overall package is meeting with widespread criticism from all sectors of the energy industry.
Danger of „exclusion zones“ for the energy transition
The German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar) warns of widespread restrictions: „Large parts of Germany are threatened with becoming no-go zones for the energy transition.“
Would be particularly affected:
- Lower Saxony
- Schleswig-Holstein
- Bavaria
- Saxony-Anhalt
- East Frisia
Insufficient integration of storage
Simone Peter, now a member of the EREF Executive Board and former president of BEE, criticizes the fact that the grid package merely addresses bottlenecks through restrictions rather than offering flexibility solutions. In Germany, the shift of PV electricity to battery storage is only about 14% of total generation. Other regions, such as Australia, Chile, or California, are already at 50–60% of total generation thanks to more flexible regulation.
Criticism of a lack of technological openness
The German Association of the New Energy Industry (bne) and the Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU) criticize the design of tenders in the Electricity Network Expansion Act (StromVKG) as not being technology-open enough and too costly. The generation costs for gas are far too high at 19–23 ct/kWh. If one also adds the follow-up costs incurred by a new Study on gas power plants, power outage from gas even at 35 – 67 ct/kWh. These costs should be passed on to all consumers and are no longer up-to-date given generation costs of 4.2 – 7 ct/kWh for solar farms or 6.3 – 10 ct/kWh for rooftop PV systems. Furthermore, CO₂ costs for gas power generation are continuing to rise.
Scarce & expensive fossil fuels
According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU member states have, in approximately 44 days, incurred around 22 billion euros have to spend additionally on fossil fuel imports. This shows how dependent Europe still is on oil and gas imports and would correspond to approximately 10 years the German Redispatch costs. The temporary reduction in mineral oil tax from May to the end of June 2026 alone will cover costs for one year.
Conclusion: Structural reform with conflicting objectives
The energy package marks a turning point in German energy policy:
- More control and restriction in network access
- Less funding, stronger market integration
- Return to assured performance through capacity mechanisms
However, central questions remain unanswered:
- Is the expansion of renewable energies being slowed down?
- Are investments in storage sufficiently incentivized?
- Are new regional imbalances emerging?
A careful Project Analysis Therefore, the preprocessing is becoming increasingly important and essential.