§19 StromNEV atypical grid use and the AgNes reform from 2029: what they mean for a battery

Atypical grid use (§19(2) sentence 1)

• If a customer's peak contribution predictably deviates strongly from the simultaneous annual peak of its network level, the grid operator must offer an individual network charge, which must be at least 20% of the published charge (§19 StromNEV).
• In practice, grid operators publish their high-load time windows each year, under Bundesnetzagentur decision BK4-13-739 — for example N-ERGIE Netz's windows for 2026.
• The exact eligibility tests — how strongly the peak must deviate, and how the individual charge is calculated — come from the regulator's decision and the operator. They were not part of Zorowatt's research; ask the operator before modelling a rebate.

Illustrative arithmetic of the floor only: if a site's published network charges came to €100,000 a year, the individual charge could not be set below 20% × 100,000 = €20,000. Where between the floor and the published charge it lands depends on the operator's calculation.

How a battery helps

• Discharge inside the high-load windows, so the site's load there stays low; recharge outside them.
• The site's annual peak outside the windows may stay high — the point is where the peak falls, not only how high it is.
• Vendor model: a metalworking site with 380 MWh a year and a high-load window of 17:45–19:15 cuts its demand cost from €17,800 to €3,000 a year by peak shaving plus atypical grid use: €14,800 a year on €55,900 of battery, a payback under four years (EWS, 10/2025).
• Vendor case: Familux Resort in Oberjoch runs its 307.2 kWh / 300 kW battery under an atypical-grid-use agreement that requires cutting the daily maximum by at least 20% in the defined window; the vendor reports a payback of 4–5 years (Tesvolt).

A study should model atypical grid use as a separate scenario with its own assumptions, so the client sees what the rebate adds and what the case is without it.

Band load (§19(2) sentences 2–3)

• For sites with at least 7,000 full-load hours and more than 10 GWh a year. The individual charge has a floor of 20%, 15% or 10% of the published charge at 7,000, 7,500 or 8,000 hours or more (§19 StromNEV).
• A battery raises full-load hours (annual kWh ÷ annual peak kW) by lowering the peak. Illustrative: 12,000,000 kWh a year and an 1,800 kW peak give 12,000,000 ÷ 1,800 ≈ 6,667 hours; shaving the peak to 1,700 kW gives 12,000,000 ÷ 1,700 ≈ 7,059 hours, above 7,000. Whether a given site qualifies is decided under the operator's rules; the arithmetic only shows which way the ratio moves.

2028: the StromNEV expires

• The StromNEV rules expire 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).
• The future rules for industry are to be decided in early 2027, after pilots that run until the end of 2026 (same press release).

From 2029: AgNes, the booked-capacity model

• For consumers above 100,000 kWh a year, the Leistungspreis would be replaced by a booked capacity price in € per kW a year. Energy drawn within the booked capacity pays one Arbeitspreis (AP1), energy above it a higher one (AP2) (Bundesnetzagentur; Grant Thornton).
• Grid-connected storage would pay a capacity charge and no Arbeitspreis, for storage with a final investment decision after the decision takes effect; home storage at low voltage stays exempt.
• Dynamic elements would come for storage at the earliest in 2030 and by 2033 at the latest, and for feed-in from 2032 to 2035.
• Timing: a draft framework decision was published on 6 August 2026, with consultation until 18 September 2026; the final decision is pending.

What it does to a battery case: peak shaving turns into staying under the booked kW, and choosing the booking becomes part of the sizing. With a capacity price K per kW and a surcharge S per kWh above the booking, booking 100 kW less saves 100 × K a year and costs S times the kWh drawn above the booking — kWh a battery can cover. The rates K and S are not known yet, so 2029 belongs in a scenario, not a forecast.

The Workspace carries NEW Netz's 2026 sheet with the German levies and bills both price systems of the 2,500-hour rule. German grid charges for RLM customers and the 2,500-hour rule explains today's Leistungspreis.

Related guides

• German grid charges for RLM customers and the 2,500-hour rule
• How to size a battery for peak shaving
• NPV, IRR and payback for a C&I battery

Sources

• §19 StromNEV
• N-ERGIE Netz, Hochlastzeitfenster 2026
• EWS, Spitzenlastkappung brochure, 10/2025 (vendor)
• Tesvolt, Familux Resort (vendor)
• Bundesnetzagentur, AgNes press release, 27 May 2026
• Grant Thornton on the AgNes draft

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. AgNes is a draft framework decision; its rates and final form are not known.