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German grid charges for RLM customers: Leistungspreis, Arbeitspreis and the 2,500-hour rule

A German business with load metering (RLM) pays its grid operator a Leistungspreis per kW of its single highest 15-minute load of the year, plus an Arbeitspreis per kWh. Which pair applies depends on the site's full-load hours, annual kWh divided by the annual peak kW: below 2,500 hours the kW price is low and the kWh price high, above it the reverse. On NEW Netz's 2026 medium-voltage sheet that is €16.80 per kW a year plus 4.63 ct/kWh below 2,500 hours, and €118.34 per kW a year plus 0.57 ct/kWh above — so peak shaving pays far better at a site above 2,500 hours.

7 min read · Updated 2026-10-30

One peak a year sets the price

The Leistungspreis is charged on the highest 15-minute load of the whole year. A battery that holds the peak for eleven months and misses one afternoon in December saves nothing on it. For sizing, this means the worst day of the year decides, not the typical one.

Full-load hours pick the price system

Full-load hours (Jahresbenutzungsdauer) = annual kWh ÷ annual peak kW. Illustrative: a site using 1,600,000 kWh a year with an 800 kW peak has 1,600,000 ÷ 800 = 2,000 hours and pays the system below 2,500 hours.

A battery changes this number. Shave the same site's peak to 640 kW and its full-load hours become 1,600,000 ÷ 640 = 2,500: the site moves to the other price system. A study has to bill both systems and apply the right one after the battery, not before.

2026 prices from three grid operators

Leistungspreis in € per kW a year and Arbeitspreis in ct per kWh, below / at or above 2,500 hours:

  • NEW Netz, medium voltage: €16.80 + 4.63 ct / €118.34 + 0.57 ct. Medium voltage with transformation: €18.36 + 5.05 ct / €129.16 + 0.62 ct. Low voltage: €30.46 + 5.70 ct / €140.53 + 1.29 ct. High voltage with transformation: €14.92 + 4.12 ct / €105.36 + 0.50 ct (NEW Netz 2026).
  • Netze BW, medium voltage: €16.61 + 6.32 ct / €148.05 + 1.06 ct (Netze BW 2026, v1.2, retrieved 2026-10-30).
  • RheinNetz, medium voltage: €21.41 + 4.56 ct / €103.84 + 1.26 ct (RheinNetz 2026, retrieved 2026-10-30).
  • NEW Netz also has a monthly system for customers billed on monthly peaks: €19.72 per kW a month plus 0.57 ct/kWh at medium voltage.

Every one of Germany's grid operators publishes its own sheet, and they differ: the price above 2,500 hours ranges from €103.84 to €148.05 per kW a year in these three alone. Use the site's own operator.

Why the two systems meet at 2,500 hours

Per kW of peak, the cost of a year is Leistungspreis + Arbeitspreis × hours. With NEW Netz's medium-voltage prices at 2,500 hours:

  • Below-2,500 system: 16.80 + 0.0463 × 2,500 = €132.55 per kW.
  • Above-2,500 system: 118.34 + 0.0057 × 2,500 = €132.59 per kW.
  • They are equal (to rounding) at the threshold. Below it the first system is the cheaper one, above it the second, so the price system that applies is always the cheaper of the two at the site's actual hours.

What a kW of peak is worth

Above 2,500 hours, every kW shaved off the annual peak saves the full Leistungspreis: €118.34 a year at NEW Netz medium voltage. Below 2,500 hours it saves only €16.80, and the battery's losses pay the higher Arbeitspreis of 4.63 ct per kWh.

Worked example — illustrative, not a real customer: a site using 3,200,000 kWh a year with an 800 kW peak has 4,000 full-load hours. A battery holds the year's peak at 700 kW. Leistungspreis saved: 100 kW × €118.34 = €11,834 a year. Full-load hours afterwards: 3,200,000 ÷ 700 ≈ 4,571, still in the same system. The losses — say 20,000 kWh a year (assumption) — pay the Arbeitspreis: 20,000 × €0.0057 = €114, plus the levies and the electricity tax per kWh listed below, plus the supplier's energy price.

For comparison, one vendor's brochure uses Leistungspreise of €13.61 and €12.38 per kW per month in its examples, €163.32 and €148.56 a year (EWS, 10/2025). Those are one vendor's example values, not a German average.

Levies and tax on top, 2026

The grid operator's prices exclude the levies, the concession fee and VAT. Per kWh, net, from grid operators' 2026 sheets citing the transmission operators' publication (Stadtwerke Homburg):

  • KWKG levy: 0.446 ct.
  • Offshore grid levy (§17f EnWG): 0.941 ct.
  • Surcharge for special grid use (the former §19 levy), category A′: 1.559 ct on the first 1 GWh per offtake point; lower above it.
  • Electricity tax (Stromsteuer): 2.05 ct, €20.50 per MWh (§3 StromStG). Manufacturing and agriculture can reclaim €20 per MWh under §9b, which leaves 0.05 ct (secondary source: Vattenfall).
  • Concession fee: set per grid operator and municipality; not researched here.

These per-kWh items do not change with peak shaving, but the battery's losses pay them.

§19 StromNEV: atypical grid use

If a site's peak predictably falls outside the time when its network level peaks, the grid operator must offer an individual network charge of at least 20% of the published one (§19 StromNEV). Grid operators publish high-load time windows (Hochlastzeitfenster) each year, for example N-ERGIE Netz's for 2026. A battery that keeps the load low inside those windows can help a site qualify — a strong German use case that a study should model as a separate scenario.

  • Band load: a separate rule for sites with at least 7,000 full-load hours and more than 10 GWh a year.
  • The StromNEV expires on 31 December 2028. The band-load rule is extended for existing customers to 31 December 2031, and the atypical-use rebate is kept for a transition period (Bundesnetzagentur, 27 May 2026).

From 2029: the AgNes reform

The Bundesnetzagentur's AgNes reform would change the tariff logic for consumers above 100,000 kWh a year. A draft framework decision was published on 6 August 2026 with consultation until 18 September 2026; the final decision is pending (Bundesnetzagentur, Grant Thornton).

  • The Leistungspreis would be replaced by a booked capacity price in € per kW a year.
  • Energy within the booked capacity pays one Arbeitspreis (AP1); energy drawn above it a higher one (AP2).
  • Grid-connected storage would pay a capacity charge and no Arbeitspreis, for storage with a final investment decision after the decision takes effect.
  • For a battery, peak shaving turns into staying under the booked kW — and choosing the booking becomes part of the sizing. The rates are not known yet.

The Workspace carries NEW Netz's 2026 sheet with the German levies and bills both price systems. For a quick look, enter the Leistungspreis per month (for example 118.34 ÷ 12 = €9.86 per kW) into the free peak-shaving calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Does one high peak really cost the whole year?
Under the annual system, yes: the Leistungspreis is charged on the single highest 15-minute load of the year. That is why a German peak-shaving battery is sized on the worst day, and why the controller needs a safety margin.
My site is below 2,500 hours. Is peak shaving worth it?
Usually much less: at NEW Netz medium voltage a kW saves €16.80 a year instead of €118.34. Check whether the shaved peak would lift the site above 2,500 hours, and look at the other value streams — solar, arbitrage, atypical grid use.
Is the Arbeitspreis affected by a battery?
Only through the losses, which add to the kWh drawn. The battery does not lower the site's consumption.
What should a 2029 business case assume?
A scenario, not a forecast: the AgNes decision is not final and its rates are unknown. Show the 2029 years separately with the assumption stated.

Related guides

Sources

Last checked: 2026-10-30. Every figure in this guide comes from the source linked next to it, with the retrieval date Zorowatt's research recorded (28–30 October 2026), or from arithmetic shown step by step. VAT is not stated here because its rate was not verified in Zorowatt's research.

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