(de-news.net) – Differentiated pricing would better represent the output of renewable energy and boost industrial competitiveness, according to Brandenburg Minister-President Dietmar Woidke (SPD), who has reiterated his request for Germany to establish regional power bidding zones. Southern states continue to oppose the proposal, which goes against the federal coalition’s pledge to preserve a single national electricity market.
Woidke renewed his call for Germany to divide its electricity market into multiple bidding zones, arguing that regionally differentiated pricing would allow northern and eastern states to better capitalize on their abundant renewable energy resources. In his view, Germany has taken the wrong approach by transforming what was intended to be a decentralized system of electricity generation into a centralized supply network. He argued that this strategy has required multibillion-euro investments in long-distance transmission infrastructure designed to transport inexpensive wind-generated electricity from northern Germany to consumers in the south instead of encouraging greater consumption of renewable power closer to where it is produced.
According to Woidke, electricity generated by Brandenburg’s wind and solar parks costs between 0.05 euro and 0.07 euro per kilowatt-hour, while consumers in the state pay approximately 0.25 euro per kilowatt-hour. He argued that the current nationwide pricing system effectively eliminates Brandenburg’s natural competitive advantage despite its significant renewable generation capacity. In his assessment, introducing regional electricity prices could encourage new industrial investment in northern and eastern Germany while also helping retain companies that might otherwise relocate production abroad in search of lower energy costs. Woidke also pointed to Scandinavian countries, where regional electricity bidding zones have long been used, as an example of an alternative market structure.
Southern German states resist electricity market split
Germany currently operates under a single electricity bidding zone with a uniform wholesale power price, a framework that was reaffirmed in the federal coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD. Under this system, wholesale electricity prices are generally determined by the lowest-cost available generation, which is frequently wind power produced in northern Germany. As a consequence, lower wholesale prices are shared across the country, allowing southern states such as Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg to benefit from comparatively inexpensive electricity despite having less renewable generation capacity. Both states have therefore continued to oppose proposals to divide the national electricity market, arguing that higher electricity prices in Germany’s economically powerful southern regions would be detrimental.
Woidke nevertheless maintained that establishing multiple electricity bidding zones would strengthen Germany’s overall economic competitiveness by directing investment toward regions with abundant renewable electricity production and lower energy costs. He argued that the governing coalition, including the CSU, should place greater emphasis on Germany’s broader economic interests rather than focusing primarily on protecting individual states from regional price differences. Schleswig-Holstein Minister-President Daniel Günther (CDU) has also recently expressed support for creating multiple electricity bidding zones, adding to the debate over whether Germany’s electricity market should continue operating under a single nationwide pricing system or adopt a more regionally differentiated approach.
