GERMANY Law and Practice Contributed by: Udo Olgemoeller, Nicolaus Ascherfeld, Johann von Pachelbel and Janina Müller, A&O Shearman
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eration and supply to consumers on the other hand. In line with EU laws, the German unbundling regime provides for different options, such as ownership unbundling, independent system operators or inde- pendent transmission grid operators. A certification regime for hydrogen network operators is also set to be introduced. Ownership Generation and supply are predominantly private investor-owned, with some municipal and state- owned entities. Transmission and distribution are operated by both private and state-owned compa- nies, but subject to strict regulatory oversight. 1.2 Principal State-Owned or Investor-Owned Entities The principal entities in the power industry are as fol- lows. • Generation: (a) RWE; (b) E.ON; (c) EnBW; (d) Vattenfall; (e) municipal utilities (Stadtwerke); and (f) a broad variety of private investors, particularly in the renewables sector. • Transmission TSOs: (c) TenneT; and (d) TransnetBW. • Distribution: 850+ DSOs, including E.ON, Innogy and municipal utilities. • Supply to consumers: competitive suppliers, including E.ON, Vattenfall and municipal utilities. (a) 50Hertz; (b) Amprion;
1. Structure and Ownership of the Power Industry 1.1 Law Governing the Structure and Ownership of the Power Industry Structure and Ownership Germany’s power industry is characterised by a liber- alised and unbundled structure, reflecting EU direc- tives on market liberalisation. The industry is princi- pally divided into generation, storage, transmission, distribution and supply segments. Principal Laws The key legislation is the Energy Industry Act ( Ener- giewirtschaftsgesetz – EnWG), which sets out the overall framework for the energy industry, including unbundling rules and the defining the role of the Fed- eral Network Agency ( Bundesnetzagentur – BNetzA) as the relevant regulator. The Renewable Energy Sources Act ( Erneuerbare - Energien - Gesetz – EEG) is the major pace-maker for the energy transition, alongside the Offshore Wind Energy Act ( Windener- gie - auf - See - Gesetz – WindSeeG). Permits for onshore generation facilities are frequently governed by the Federal Immission Control Act ( Bundes - Immissions- schutzgesetz – BImSchG) and/or the state’s construc- tion codes. There are a number of additional federal laws regulating grid planning and construction, while federal ordinances further regulate grid connection and grid fees. Bundling/Unbundling The industry is unbundled, with legal and functional separation between power grid operation – transmis- sion system operators (TSOs) or distribution system operators (DSOs) – on the one hand, and power gen-
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