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"Claw-Back" Mechanism between Energy, European, and Constitutional Law

Retroactively Recovering?

The German Renewable Energy Act (EEG) levy is intended to pass the difference between the remuneration obtained by selling EEG-financed electricity on the stock exchange and the costs incurred by the grid operators' remuneration obligation on to electricity consumers.

Under certain conditions, according to Section 61c para. 1 EEG anyone who supplies themselves with electricity consumed since 2018 with the help of a highly efficient combined heat and power plant (CHP plant) will only pay 40 % of the EEG levy due under Section 61 para. 1 EEG.

Less is more

This privilege is limited by Section 61c para. 2 EEG (revised version) and the "claw-back" mechanism (CBM), which leads to a different level of exemption from the EEG levy depending on the amount of electricity used.

Yes, no, yes

The CBM was introduced retroactively to 1 January 2019 by the Act of 21 December 2020 (German Federal Law Gazette (BGBl.) I 3164), after the CBM had been removed retroactively to 1 January 2019 in the first place by the Act of 20 November 2019 (BGBl. I p. 1722). This means that some high-efficiency CHP plants will no longer be exempt from the levy retroactively. Is this permitted under German legislation?

Dr Christos Paraschiakos, Philipp Reinecke and Jonathan Schramm comment on this and other topics in their essay published today in the IR.

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