German grid operators overcharge on renewable energy costs - energy association |
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Fri, 19 Oct 2007 08:13
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FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - German grid operators are disproportionately charging their customers costs related to the inclusion of renewable energies to their power grids, Handelsblatt reported, quoting a study commissioned by the German association BNE, which represents smaller companies that do not operate their own grids.'Grid operators are raising prices artificially,' Handelsblatt quoted a BNE spokeswoman as saying.Costs of feeding renewable energy into power grids are higher than of conventional energy, as power volumes are less steady. Utilities need to provide extra power to balance fluctuations and maintain sophisticated energy data systems to forecast renewable power volumes.The report said these costs amounted to 235-315 mln eur in 2005 and 381-481 mln in 2006 according to the study.'This system bestows grid operators with significant arbitrage profit,' a spokesman of the association of renewable energy suppliers, BEE, said.The authors of the study call for renewable energy to be fully traded at a power bourse.There are four grid operators in Germany, RWE AG, E.ON AG, EnBW and Vattenfall Europe.frederik.richter@thomson.comfr1/bsdCOPYRIGHTCopyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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National power grid report to be released 