Germany’s Federal Accounting Office Slams Government For Out-Of-Control Electricity Costs

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) — Germany’s version of the Washington Post — reports here that the country’s Energiewende (transition to green energy) has been fraught with “serious errors” and that the government has lost control of its energy policy.

The FAZ cites a report released by the Bundesrechnungshof (federal accounting office).

Out-of-control costs

The report unloads criticism on Economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who is also vice chancellor to Angela Merkel.

The federal accounting office report slams Gabriel’s Economics Ministry, concluding, that it “has no overview of the financial impacts of the Energiewende.” In short, the government has lost control over the project – similarly like it lost control of the construction of Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie concert hall, which originally had been estimated to cost less than 80 million euros, but wound up costing a scandalous 789 million euros before finishing years behind schedule!

“Serious organizational deficiencies”

The accounting office report also accuses Germany’s energy policy of being fraught with “serious organizational deficiencies” that are “difficult to comprehend“.

In the earlier days of the Energiewende, proponents such as Green Party member Jürgen Trittin boasted that the green energy project would be affordable, costing the average German citizen about as much as the cost of “one scoop of ice cream each month“. Since then Germany’s electricity costs for consumers have exploded and are now among the highest in the world, averaging near 30 cents per kilowatt hour.

The stability of the supply has also taken a serious hit.

Price spiral continues

Even worse, the prices of German electricity bare projected to increase substantially over the coming years. The FAZ adds:

The federal accounting office sees a risk that it will get more expensive to advance the Energiewende.”

Germany’s shocking electricity price spiral shows no signs of slowing. A week ago the online Kieler Nachrichten here reported in a separate story that “electric bills for consumers will be significantly higher in 2017” and that if things do not change, prices will continue to rise until at least 2023.

 

20 responses to “Germany’s Federal Accounting Office Slams Government For Out-Of-Control Electricity Costs”

  1. ClimateOtter

    Que sod to explain how Germans are enjoying cheap energy in 5…..4……3……2 3/4…….. 2 1/2…….

  2. sod

    very good article. Everyone should read the full one in German or via google translate.

    http://www.kn-online.de/News/Aktuelle-Wirtschaftsnachrichten/Nachrichten-Wirtschaft-aus-der-Welt/Verbraucher-muessen-mit-hoeheren-Strompreisen-rechnen

    Electricity is at its lowest price for 10 years:

    “die Strompreise im Großhandel an der Börse seien gesunken. Die Börsenpreise hätten mit 26,60 Euro pro Megawattstunde auf einem Zehn-Jahres-Tief gelegen.”

    And higher electricity bills are caused by the EEG system, which might keep growing till 2023 and then will start to fall, possibly dramatically.

    “Bleibt das System der Abgaben und Umlagen, wie es ist, so ist bis 2023 ein weiterer Anstieg der Strompreise absehbar“, sagte Agora-Direktor Patrick Graichen. „Erst danach kommen die “Ernte-Jahre” der Energiewende.“”

    Germany is now getting basically 1/3 of its electrcity from renewables.

    “Der Ökostrom-Anteil stieg 2016 laut Agora um 0,8 Punkte auf 32,3 Prozent.”

    Well done!

    1. Graeme No.3

      The wholesale price is depressed when too much output from wind farms has to be disposed of (through the interconnectors) to other markets at low prices.

      Costs high and going higher
      Environmental damage getting worse
      Disruption to the grid increasing
      Emissions NOT decreasing at all.
      sod wants more!

    2. DirkH

      “Electricity is at its lowest price for 10 years:”

      The bulk prices.
      a) 70% of the consumer price are taxes and the renewables fee of 6.75 cents (though, might as well be a cent more now as it rises every year).

      So, see sod, you know that I correct your lies so you have no hope of deluding international readers. So why do you keep lying?

      Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results: The definition of insanity.

  3. yonason

    Subsidized energy is expensive energy.
    http://rightwingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/20.jpg

  4. mike restin

    “costing the average German citizen about as much as the cost of “one scoop of ice cream each month“.”
    “Since then Germany’s electricity costs for consumers have exploded and are now among the highest in the world, averaging near 30 cents per kilowatt hour.”
    So, how many extra “scoops of ice cream” is 30 cents per kwh each month?

    1. tom0mason

      But as the cost of electricity has risen bumping-up the cost of ice cream making exponentially, and therefore the retail price. So now it only half a scoop.
      See sod is correct the price has dropped.
      By the end of 2017 it could be down to ¼ of a scoop or lower if you can find a manufacturer still in business.

      /sarcoff

      That’s the problem with people who knows the cost of everything, the price of nothing, and never the value of anything.

    2. CraigAustin

      They going to dramatically raise the cost of ice cream, just to keep their promise.

  5. Edward.

    Out-of-control costs

    The report unloads criticism on Economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who is also vice chancellor to Angela Merkel.

    “out of control government” more like, it is high time Merkel was reminded just who it is who are the bosses, the people need to remove Mutti in the forthcoming national elections.

    Deutschland – wake up, Europe needs it.

  6. J Puntanen
  7. DirkH

    I would like to add that in Germany, 1/3 of electricity is private consumption, 1/3 is public sector, 1/3 is commerce.
    So Germans are looted 3 times. To assess the full damage per capita it is simplest to divide the 32 bn EUR/year subsidy paid out by 82 million people. 390 EUR / yr on average – paid for higher elec. costs, higher product prices and increased taxes to equal amounts.

    Let’s continue. About half the population WORKS. So it’s 780 EUR/yr per WORKER.

    About HALF of those work in the private sector. So we’re at 1560 EUR/yr per worker in the private sector.

    About HALF of those actually are net tax payers. So we’re at 3120 EUR/yr per net tax paying worker in the private sector.

    This is the policy of a party – the CDU – that calls itself CONSERVATIVE. They are of course, and very obviously, nothing of the kind: They are PROGRESSIVES (like all the leftist-green parties).

    1. SebastianH

      Interesting calculation, if only it were correct and would use real numbers 🙂

      1. yonason

        I’ll take DirkH’s numbers over your vacuous claims any day.

        1. SebastianH

          How do you decide which numbers you believe? Does DirkH present any sources for his claims?

          1. yonason

            He has a history of being reliable and correct. You have a much shorter history of being unreliable and obnoxious.

  8. gallopingcamel

    You good people are suffering from “Stupid Government” that has given you:

    1. “Green Energy” costing more than twice what I pay ($0.10per kVAh).
    2. Open borders that beggar your “Working Class”.
    3. Bureaucratic tyranny that seeks to control rather than to serve.

    I could go on but what would be the point? Once a serf, always a serf. OK, I made that up in the hope you will prove me wrong!

  9. Analitik

    moderation test

  10. tom0mason

    “In a democracy people get the leaders they deserve.”
    Joseph de Maistre (1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821)

  11. David Appell

    The Germans panicked after Fukushima and decided they couldn’t handle nuclear energy.

    So now they must pay the difference. Decisions have conseqeuences. It was naive to think they would not.

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