Does your grid operator want to control your devices? Are you planning to purchase a new heat pump or wallbox and want to be prepared for everything? Or do you simply want to reduce your electricity bill?
On this page, we explain what Section 14a of the Energy Industry Act actually means for you.
The most important facts in brief
- Your grid operator can control new wallboxes and heat pumps from January 1, 2024 - if they want to. Whether they will do this is very doubtful - the hurdles for them are very high.
- With a control system, the appliances may only be regulated to 4.2 kW output each. You should therefore make sure that your new appliances are able to implement this graduated regulation.
- You are also entitled to compensation and, from 2025, to a time-variable grid fee.
- You do not need an energy management system that is connected locally to the smart metering system.
- our app helps you to reduce your electricity bill by shifting your electricity consumption with the time-variable grid fee.
More information on the website of Ruling Chamber 6 of the Federal Network Agency
Who is affected by grid-serving control in accordance with Section 14a EnWG?
Your grid operator can demand that your wallbox, heat pump or battery storage system can be controlled remotely. However, this only applies to devices installed after January 1, 2024. And all those devices for which there is already an agreement with the grid operator for the old §14a EnWG.
For all other devices installed before December 31, 2023, the regulation is voluntary. But could it still be worthwhile for you because of the compensation?
Battery storage systems are only obliged to be remotely controllable if they charge from the grid. The grid operator is not allowed to influence the charging processes in the event of a PV surplus or the discharging of the battery.
Will my grid operator require controllability?
Section 14a of the German Energy Industry Act (EnWG) and the stipulations of the Federal Network Agency give your grid operator the right to control your new devices. However, it is completely open whether they will do this. This is because such a request would have considerable consequences for your grid operator. This is because the network operator
- incurs additional costs by connecting your devices via the smart metering system (e.g. through metering point operator services),
- must compensate you and other users for the remote controllability and be able to implement these payments in its billing system,
- must expand its network promptly after control,
- must report the control via an internet platform, and
- must be able to monitor its entire network in real time within two years of control.
In addition, the technology for controlling devices via the smart metering system is not yet fully developed. We therefore assume that many grid operators will not initially control any devices in the coming years and will shy away from demanding remote controllability from their grid users.
What does the control of devices by the grid operator mean for me?
The Federal Network Agency has imposed strict requirements on grid operators. Section 14a EnWG is only an emergency paragraph. This means that grid operators can only control your devices if they see a serious threat to the security of their grid. They must also state the reasons and provide comprehensible evidence.
The scope of control is also very limited. For example, the grid operator may only reduce the output of your devices - known as “dimming”. This means that the wallbox and heat pump may continue to be operated at a maximum of 4.2 kW even if they are controlled by the grid operator. Most modern heat pumps should continue to run undisturbed at this output. Charging stations would have to be throttled back slightly.
In addition, the grid operator may only control the appliances for a maximum of two hours a day. Only when they are able to determine the status of their grid in real time are they allowed to shut down more in an emergency. After the control, the grid operator must also begin to expand the grid so that controls are no longer necessary in the future.
As an affected party, you are also entitled to financial compensation.
How will I be compensated for the grid operator's interventions?
You are entitled to a reduction in your electricity bill as compensation from the grid operator. The grid operator reduces the grid fees for your electricity supplier. Your electricity supplier will show you this reduction on your bill.
You can choose from three compensation options:
- A flat-rate discount of 110 to 190 euros (depending on your network area)
- Or a percentage reduction of the energy price by 60%. For this, however, you must install a separate meter for the controllable device(s).
- From 2025, the flat-rate discount can also be combined with an additional module: a time-variable grid fee
(here the grid charges and therefore your electricity price fluctuate depending on the time of day, creating an incentive for you to purchase electricity from the grid when it is cheap and the grid is not overloaded)
More information on the website of Ruling Chamber 8 of the Federal Network Agency
How can I benefit from the right to compensation?
If you want to benefit from the compensation, all you have to do is apply to your network operator to ensure that the devices can be remotely controlled. By ordering the connection of your devices to the grid operator's control technology, you have already fulfilled all the relevant requirements and are entitled to compensation - even if the grid operator does not actually establish control until later.
However, you must expect that connecting your devices to the grid operator's control technology will incur costs for you. This is because
- Your metering point operator must activate remote control in your smart metering system or install a control box for this purpose. There are clearly defined statutory price caps for this.
- Additional costs may be incurred for the cabling between your device and the smart metering system and for any necessary conversions in your meter cabinet. You will have to pay for these.
You should therefore check in advance exactly how much it will cost you to connect the devices.
Do I need an energy management system (HEMS) that can receive the grid operator's control signals directly at the smart metering system?
No. The grid operator commissions the metering point operator to install a control box. Your devices are connected directly to this (see illustration below). A minimum power of 4.2 kW is available to you at all times for each device.
We have explained this in detail on the smart metering system page.
However, you should make sure that your appliances can be steplessly controlled to 4.2 kW. Otherwise, your grid operator may switch off your appliances completely if necessary.
What should I look out for?
First of all, you should check whether it might be worthwhile for you to proactively apply to your grid operator for remote controllability of the systems in order to benefit from the compensation. This depends on the specific costs for the connection and conversion of your meter cabinet.
If your grid operator requests remote controllability from you, you should make sure that your devices can be controlled in stages to a power value of 4.2 kW. If the appliances cannot be controlled to this power, your grid operator may switch them off completely.
The control box installed by the metering point operator has two interfaces for connecting your appliances: Relay circuits and EEBUS.
With relay switching, most devices are switched off completely. It is therefore important that your appliance can be regulated down to 4.2 kW via a relay dry contact.
It would be better if the appliance has an EEBUS interface and thus receives the control signals IP-based. A stepped control to 4.2 kW can then also be introduced at a later date by means of a firmware update.
We also recommend that you consider choosing a time-variable grid charge. We will use your data at the end of 2024 to calculate whether you can save electricity costs with a time-variable grid charge.
What can your app do for me?
We can help you avoid being controlled by the grid operator and reduce your electricity bill.
If you choose the time-variable grid fee as compensation for being controlled by the grid operator, we can optimize your appliances to these variable prices.
Example:
Your grid operator has an increased grid charge of 10 Ct/KWh for the period from 5pm to 10pm. During the rest of the time, the grid charge is only 5 Ct/kWh.
We will now shift the charging processes of your electric car, the heating phases of your heat pump and the consumption of your other appliances to the more favorable period if possible. This will save you 5 cents per kWh of consumption - every day!
This optimization will not only save you money, but also shift your consumption so that it no longer occurs when there are many bottlenecks in the electricity grid and your grid operator wants to shut down your systems.