Energy costs: Investigation: Network fees for electricity and gas will rise in 2027

Berlin. Private households must expect slightly rising network fees for electricity and gas in the coming year. This emerges from calculations by the comparison portal Verivox based on previously published data from the distribution network operators. However, there are major regional differences.

The network fees make up around a quarter of the electricity price. They have increased in recent years. The network fees are used, among other things, to finance the expensive expansion of the electricity networks. According to the Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industry, network fees for household customers account for around a fifth of the price for gas.

Verivox expects gas prices to rise overall due to increased wholesale prices as a result of the Iran war. When it comes to electricity, it will depend on the extent to which suppliers can compensate for increased procurement costs. The portal expects regionally different developments here. Depending on the region and tariff, there could be significant price increases.

According to the portal's calculations, electricity network fees rise nationwide by an average of 1.9 percent at the turn of the year. For a three-person household with an annual electricity consumption of 4,000 kilowatt hours, this means additional costs of around 8 euros gross in purely mathematical terms.

One reason for the rising network fees is the reduction in the annual federal subsidy for transmission network costs by almost one billion euros to 5.525 billion euros in 2027. The transmission network operators' fees are billed to the operators of the lower voltage levels of the so-called distribution network. This is included in the grid fees item on the electricity bills.

The regional differences in network fees are significant, says Verivox. While electricity network fees in the old federal states increase by an average of 10 euros, they decrease by an average of 3 euros in the new federal states. Network fees are rising the most in Hamburg. “How high the network fees are also depends on the costs of expanding and operating the regional electricity networks,” says Verivox energy expert Thorsten Storck. “Since 2025, regions in which a particularly large amount of wind and solar power is generated have also been relieved.”

According to the portal, gas network fees will rise by around 3 percent on a national average in 2027. For a family in a single-family home with a gas consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours, this would result in additional calculated costs of around 19 euros gross per year. There are also clear regional differences in gas network fees. They are increasing at an above-average rate in Berlin, Hamburg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Brandenburg. In Saxony and Thuringia they are falling slightly.

However, wholesale prices, which have risen sharply since the beginning of the Iran war, were the main cause of price pressure. “The increase in gas network fees will have little impact on the development of heating costs for households in Germany compared to the exploded wholesale prices,” said Storck. "We expect price increases across the board at the turn of the year, in which the gas suppliers will pass on the higher procurement costs to their customers. Depending on the current tariff, they will range between 10 and 20 percent."