Posted on 08/13/2014 9:41:16 AM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
Taxes and fees now amount to 52 percent of the monthly power bill for retail consumers, according to a new report released Wednesday (13.8.2014) in Berlin by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW).
A typical household that uses 3,500 kilowatt hours of power per year pays about 85 euros ($113) a month for electricity. That's just one euro more than last year. About 45 euros, just over half the monthly total, is composed of taxes and special levies imposed by government. They include the standard value-added tax that applies to all goods and services, plus a special electricity tax, and a levy used to subsidize the buildout of renewable energy capacity under Germany's feed-in tariff system.
The renewable energy levy alone adds 18 euros to the average monthly bill. But experts say that in coming years, the renewable energy levy will increase much less quickly year-on-year than during the past few years - indeed, some say it may start sinking. The reason: A new reform of the renewable energy subsidy law has capped the subsidies available for new wind turbines.
Energy-hungry industries
The burden shouldered by retail electricity consumers in Germany is not shared by the industrial sector. On the contrary - industry is paying less for electricity than it used to, because it pays wholesale prices, and wholesale prices have been pushed sharply down over the last few years thanks to Germany's growing renewable energy capacity.
The reason is that whenever a strong wind blows or the sun shines, a large amount of electricity is dumped onto wholesale electricity markets at extremely low prices. Unlike with coal or gas-fired power plants, there is little or no marginal cost involved in generating more or less power from wind turbines or solar PV cells. The production cost of solar and wind power depends largely on the initial equipment and installation costs, not on fuel costs or other running costs. When a windy or sunny day leads to an overabundance of electricity, producers are willing to sell it very cheaply.
At the same time, the government has almost entirely exempted industry from paying the renewable energy surcharge, in order to make sure that it doesn't end up with a competitive disadvantage compared to other jurisdictions that lack a feed-in tariff subsidy like Germany's. Germany's energy companies in crisis
What this boils down to is that for ordinary retail consumers like households, the average price of electricity is now 29.13 euro cents per kWh, of which 6.24 euro cents goes to pay for the renewable energy subsidy. In contrast, industry typically pays between 14.56 and 15.56 euro cents.
European Union competition authorities have grumbled over Germany's implicit subsidy to energy-hungry industries as a result. The upshot, after European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia took on the issue, is that European renewable energy subsidies are supposed to be replaced by more "market-based" systems by 2017.
This works out to 39¢ per Kwh total. I’m paying 11¢ per Kwh in Texas. Of course I’m not getting the good feeling of combatting global warming.
Wow! I use about 10,000 kWh per year and pay around $90 per month. I guess if my bill was 39¢ per kWh I would be going around by candlelight too to cut down on my bill. No wonder the euros are so adamant about having appliances which turn off completely rather than having a few watts to keep the controller board running for memory retention and quick turn on.
Remember, the Germans don’t use air conditioning in a typical house.
It ought to include another chunk for restoring their nuke plants once they realize what dummies they have been.
“Remember, the Germans don’t use air conditioning in a typical house.”
As I recall, they don’t like to heat the bathrooms, either.
"What if I don't want it?" I asked.
They looked at me as if I had just said that German beer sucks.
"You have to purchase it by law" they replied.
"Why is it so expensive?" I asked.
"Because you make enough money that you have to pay. If you made less money, the government would pay."
"So, you mean, it's expensive because I'm paying for myself AND someone else who doesn't make as much as me?" I asked incredulously.
"Yes. That is Deutsches gebot (German law)" they replied.
Everything in Germany is Deutsches gebot. They love laws and seldom question them. I only stayed there four months.
But, you can not put a price on their added feel-good value.
and now they are slaves to Russia
I have a wood shed building and I was really busy in July so I didn’t go there and do any projects.
There is one, simple exhaust fan and a 40W porch light, but that’s pretty much all that was running.
Bill = $48.44
Most all of that was fees/taxes/&c. Electricity has “sky-rocketed” (to use an Obama phrase), but the regulatory fees and by-lines are numerous, too.
Average US household usage is 10,800 kWh/Year. You’re an average guy, Karl. Even taking out AC loads, the Germans don’t use much energy in their homes — maybe half the US?
Yet they are still using too much and are endangering the planet. The EU should triple their electricity taxes! That’ll fix ‘em right up.
Look at your cell phone bill for “taxes and fees”. In a continuing effort to totally piss me off, my little town (population 1600) continues to levy a tax of $.11 per cell phone. I have 5 phones on my bill and they tax them all, including the one for my mother in a different area code, in a different state.
Why do they do it? Because they can.
my water bill is generally only 25% for actual water used.
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