Germany To Compensate Power Users Hit by Grid Bottlenecks

Germany will entice electric vehicle drivers to charge up when there's plenty of green power on the system by offering them cheap tariffs linked to wholesale prices. From a report: It's part of a push by the government to better integrate huge swings of renewable power onto the grid when it's particularly sunny or windy by ramping demand up or down to match. It's an example of the flexible tariffs that are popping up all over Europe aimed at consumers with electricity-hungry devices like heat pumps or cars that can help balance the network.

Europe's largest economy aims to produce 80% of its power from renewables by 2030, but is struggling to expand its network infrastructure. To reduce bottlenecks, consumers' network costs should be reduced by as much as $208 per year, or they can opt for a 60% reduction on their energy price and benefit from other levy exemptions for heat pumps, the regulator Bundesnetzagentur said in a statement Monday.

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