Energy Newsletter

Germany struggles with structurally high electricity prices: industrial new contracts stand at 16.7 ct/kWh in 2026, while taxes and levies have increased by 73%. The EU warns of up to 1.3 million lost jobs due to exploding energy costs. The state is increasing industrial subsidies, but the steel and chemical industries are losing international competitiveness.

RWE is nearing a deal to significantly increase its stake in transmission system operator Amprion, which supplies the 10-billion-euro network to 29 million people. This concentrates control over critical infrastructure in one hand and intensifies market concentration. In parallel, RWE is investing in a fusion energy partnership with Proxima Fusion.

The Bundesnetzagentur is preparing a new crisis platform for the electricity sector with go-live in the third quarter of 2026, analogous to gas emergency instruments. This signals Germany's official supply uncertainty and redispatch costs of 3 billion euros annually. 50Hertz warns that many regions cannot accommodate additional solar energy for 5-6 years.

EnBW signs new 5-year contract with US supplier Venture Global for 0.82 million tons of LNG annually starting in 2026. This diversifies Germany's gas supply away from Russian sources, but increases dependence on US supplies and transport costs. It demonstrates the structural realignment of European energy supply.

Germany generates 57.5% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2026 (177 TWh in four months), but continues to curtail 9 TWh of solar power. Grid bottlenecks and missing storage force the use of expensive fossil backup capacity. Despite record green electricity, supply security remains endangered by physical limits.