http://www.newenergyworldnetwork.com/renewable-energy-news/by-technology/solar-by-technology-renewable-energy-news/germany-raises-renewable-energy-surcharge-to-meet-2010-deficit.html

The German government will introduce a renewable energy levy increase next year to be footed by customers and paid via transmission system operators, it announced on Friday.

The levy, which was initially introduced under the German Renewable Act (EEG) that provides for feed-in tariffs, will undergo a hike in 2011 to up to the tune of €13.5bn.
In 2011, consumers will pay 3.53 cents for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity used to promote the growth of renewables, compared to the 2.047 cents per kWh that the surcharge entailed in 2010.
Hildegard Müller, chairman of the executive board of the country’s Association of Energy and Water Management (BDEW), said, ‘Encouraging strong growth of renewable energies in 2011 in Germany, again leading to higher costs for expansion, is important and right, but it has its price.’
The cost of promoting renewable energy in the country will be paid through the respective power companies by customers through a transparent assessment procedure in which the government insists that utilities will not profit.
‘We are now in the phase in which we gradually integrate renewable energy into the market and provide the costs to customers due to the need to handle renewable energies,’ said Müller.
The BDEW said the increase in the levy was introduced for three main reasons. Firstly, higher renewable energy generation volumes are predicted for 2011 due to the strength of new and advanced photovoltaic systems.
The EEG surcharge also needs to offset a deficit incurred by transmission system operators of €1.1bn for the period up until 30 September, after the initial EEF assessment for 2010 was set too low, the BDEW said.
It also said the economic crisis has increased the difference between the offset on the stock market achieved at the current price and the remuneration of the EEG generators.
The BDEW estimates that the charges of the EEF surcharge from the customer rose from €5.3bn in 2009 to €8.2bn in 2010, and is expected to reach €13.5bn next year, in proportion with the increase in all government taxes and levies. The surcharge is expected to cost a three-person household with an annual consumption of 3,500 kWh per month between €6.00 and €10.30 in 2011, the BDEW estimates.
What extent the increased EEG surcharge may be offset in detail depends on the evolution of the other factors of the electricity price that includes charges for the procurement of power and additional government and power charges, according to the BDEW.