The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has overturned a previous ruling, affirming the authority of the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) to permit local electricity grid operators to levy construction cost contributions for the connection of battery storage systems. The decision, announced Tuesday in Karlsruhe, reverses a lower court’s order that had compelled the Network Agency to re-evaluate a request by a battery storage system operator.
The BGH’s ruling states that the imposition of construction cost contributions under a performance pricing model for grid-connected battery storage systems is not discriminatory. The court recognizes the potential for battery storage systems to provide network benefits and emphasizes that equal treatment regarding construction cost contributions can be objectively justified. Such contributions serve a steering and control function, increasing connection costs in proportion to the performance demands placed on the grid.
The Federal Court of Justice determined that the Federal Network Agency’s assessment, considering the construction cost contribution’s relationship to the pursued objectives, was reasonable. It highlighted that the deployment of battery storage does not inherently alleviate the burden on the local connection grid for which the construction cost contribution is applied. Grid operators retain discretion in deciding whether to incentivize the deployment of battery storage through the application of construction cost contributions (Decision of July 15, 2025 – EnVR 1/24).
