Meyer demands electricity reform: Justice between north and south in danger!

Lower Saxony's Environment Minister Meyer demands a reform of the electricity market in Germany to compensate for price differences regionally.
Lower Saxony's Environment Minister Meyer demands a reform of the electricity market in Germany to compensate for price differences regionally. (Symbolbild/MB)

Meyer demands electricity reform: Justice between north and south in danger!

In the past few days, Lower Saxony's Environment Minister Christian Meyer (Greens) has caused excitement with his demand for a reform of the German electricity market. Above all, it criticizes the current uniform electricity zone that creates the wrong price signals and heavily contaminates the producer regions in the north. Meyer receives backing of "Disode-E", the Association of European Transmission Network Operators. A new study by the association proposes to divide Germany into several electricity price zones, specifically into a model with five zones known as "DE5". According to this study, such a reform could be saved annually around 339 million euros, as Https://www.rundblick-niedersachsen.de/christian-meyer-will-sueddeutschland-wer-neuen- neuen-electricity architecture-Her.

The fact that current pricing in the German electricity market is based on the assumption is particularly piquant. In practice, however, it looks very different: on wind -rich days in the north, the stock market prices decrease, which also affects prices in the south, although the current does not physically get there. This means that fossil power plants are used more and wind turbines in the north, which allows the redispatch costs to rise to almost three billion euros per year.

justice and support for the reform

Meyer sees the reform not only as an economic necessity, but also as a question of justice. The north bears the main load of the energy transition and at the same time pays high network charges. He also receives support from other federal states such as Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In particular, the discussion about the introduction of electricity price zones is hot in Germany. Rather, a new EU study supports the division into several electricity regions. Similar models have already proven themselves in Sweden, where the country has been divided into four geographical price zones since 2011.

As can be seen from the report of [Tagesschau, such price zones in Germany could help regulate the large regional differences better in electricity generation. A lot of wind power is generated in the north, while there is a high demand in the south. However, there are transport problems because the networks are often overloaded, which requires additional use of gas power plants in the south. These developments drive up the electricity prices as a whole and burden consumers and companies alike.

resistance from the south

Despite the advantages for the enforcement of a reform, however, there is massive resistance, especially from Bavaria and industrial associations. The Association of Chemical Industry (VCI) warns of long -lasting uncertainty, while the DIHK fears rising electricity prices for the south. Bavaria's state chancellor Florian Herrmann describes the reform plans as a "location risk for all of Germany". Meyer, on the other hand, emphasizes that he is not concerned with punishing Bavaria, but rather about a necessary review of the blockages when expanding renewable energies and networks.

In the next few months, the situation could continue to be worsening if no agreements are reached at the EU level. The Commission plans to make a decision in spring 2026 that could significantly influence the direction of the German electricity market. In the meantime, the debate about the electricity market reform is becoming increasingly important in the wider European discussion. The reform includes numerous changes to regulations and guidelines that aim to increase consumer protection and to promote the integration of renewable energies. If they are intelligently implemented, these measures could be of great importance for Germany and the European energy transition, such as [Energie.de] (https://www.energie.de/et/news-detailansicht/nsctrl/detail/Mehr-wett-und-integration-eu-strommarktreform-und-und-fuer- Germany).

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