Germany's 2027 electricity levies are set: offshore charge up 21 per cent, CHP levy barely moves

What the grid operators have set for 2027

Germany's four transmission system operators have published the nationwide electricity levies for 2027; the figures have been on netztransparenz.de since 26 October 2026, a day after the statutory deadline of 25 October (§ 11 EnFG). The CHP levy, which funds combined heat and power, is almost unchanged at 0.451 ct/kWh (2026: 0.446). The offshore grid charge, which pays for connecting the wind farms at sea, rises much more sharply: from 0.941 to 1.143 ct/kWh, up about 21 per cent. On top of that comes the "surcharge for special grid use" set by the Federal Network Agency — since 2025 it absorbs the former §19 StromNEV levy — at a provisional 2.027 ct/kWh (2026: 1.559). In total, non-privileged end users therefore carry 3.621 instead of 2.946 ct/kWh. What an electricity price is made of, and which part of it is steered by politics, is set out in the guide to the components of the household electricity price.

Who the higher levies hit in 2027

The levies sit on every kilowatt-hour of grid electricity and so hit everyone who is not privileged as energy-intensive: private households, landlords paying for communal electricity as well as tenant-power and heat-pump tariffs, and the great majority of commercial and trade businesses. Energy-intensive firms with relief carry reduced rates (groups B' and C'). For an average household using 3,500 kWh, the extra 0.675 ct/kWh amounts to around €24 a year net, just under €28 with VAT — small on its own, but only one of several screws being tightened at once at the turn of the year.

Why the total climbs noticeably despite a stable CHP levy

The headline is the stable CHP levy; the real movement is elsewhere. The increase is carried by the offshore grid charge and the surcharge for special grid use — together about 0.67 cents more per kilowatt-hour. Both fund grid and connection costs that keep growing as offshore wind is built out and an increasingly renewable grid is managed; the surcharge is also still provisional and may change. "The EEG levy is gone, but the quiet charges on the electricity bill keep rising — anyone who looks only at the energy rate overlooks a growing share of their electricity costs." — Pedram Dadgar, Strategic adviser to Green Contracting GmbH.

I have worked on energy projects since 2021, and the pattern repeats itself: while the argument runs on the wholesale price and the abolished EEG levy, the burden quietly shifts into grid fees and their levies. For owners, landlords and businesses, what counts is therefore not the single levy but the whole package of energy rate, grid fee, levies and CO₂ price that takes effect together on 1 January 2027. Anyone planning electricity procurement for 2027 should pull these items into one calculation — and treat their own consumption as the lever that can actually be negotiated.

What to do now

1. Calculate the levies not in isolation but as part of the full 2027 electricity price: energy rate, grid fee, levies and CO₂ price together.
2. Check the supplier's year-end price letter to make sure the higher levies are passed on correctly and not twice; landlords should compare communal-electricity and heat-pump tariffs separately.
3. Energy-intensive businesses should check whether they are using relief rules and reduced surcharge rates; everyone else should treat load management and self-generation as a lasting lever.