Grid fee subsidy 2027 to 2029: Bundestag approves €5.525 billion a year, Bundesrat decides on 20 November

What the Bundestag decided on 12 November

On Thursday, 12 November 2026, the Bundestag approved the federal subsidy towards transmission grid costs for 2027 to 2029. The federal government will pay €5.525 billion in each of the three years from the Climate and Transformation Fund, €975 million less than the €6.5 billion for 2026. The committee for economic affairs and energy had recommended adopting the government bill unchanged on 11 November (printed paper 21/9154); the CDU/CSU and SPD voted in favour, while the AfD, Greens and Left abstained. The Bundesrat’s call for €6.5 billion a year did not win a majority. How much grid fees shape the electricity price is explained in the guide to the components of the electricity price.

Which households, landlords and businesses now gain certainty for 2027

Every electricity customer whose distribution system operator passes on transmission costs will benefit, which means practically every household, trade business and retailer. The transmission system operators had calculated their provisional 2027 fees at 3.54 cents per kilowatt hour with the subsidy; without it, they would be 6.52 cents. That calculation was subject to legal certainty by 7 December. The Bundesrat has now added the law to its 20 November session as item 63, in time. Landlords are affected through communal electricity and wherever heat pumps provide heating. How the hearing on 6 November went is covered in the report on the hearing.

Why the vote only secures the first year

The good news is the timing: without a law by early December, higher final grid fees would have loomed. But the relief is shrinking. According to the committee report, the €6.5 billion lowered household grid fees in 2026 by around two cents per kilowatt hour on average. With almost a billion less, 2027 brings a noticeable but smaller effect, and the rise of around a quarter in transmission fees is already priced in.

For 2028 and 2029 the bill’s explanatory memorandum says the funds are only to be given priority. Anyone writing the subsidy into a ten-year business case is counting on money that every budget draft has to confirm again. At the same time, the 2027 budget still lacks funding for the electricity tax cut for everyone, as the article on the budget committee shows.

What to do now

1. Wait for the Bundesrat result on 20 November; referral to the mediation committee would put the 7 December deadline at risk.
2. From mid-December, check electricity offers for 2027 against your own grid operator’s final fees.
3. Calculate investments in heat pumps or storage for 2028 and 2029 with and without the subsidy.