FNB Gas on the agreement of the traffic light coalition on the EnWG amendment

Barbara Fischer, Managing Director of FNB Gas, comments on the agreement reached by the coalition parties on the amendment to the Energy Industry Act to create the legal framework for financing the hydrogen core network and to anchor integrated network development planning for gas and hydrogen:

“The TSOs are committed to the core grid and remain convinced that the core grid is a necessary prerequisite for the decarbonization of German industry and the economy.

Unfortunately, key amendments to the draft law that were introduced by the FNB, the industry and the Federal Council were not taken into account: the reduction in the amount of the deductible and the booking of residual values in the amortization account if the market ramp-up fails. On the other hand, we consider the changes regarding the liability risks of grid operators in the event of insolvency and the possibility of extending the timeframe for core grid projects until 2037 to be positive. The FNB will now evaluate the model as a whole. In the coming weeks, dialog with shareholders and banks will show whether the financing model is sufficiently marketable in this form.

The agreement on the regulations for integrated network planning for gas and hydrogen contains a number of innovations, including with regard to cooperation between the various network levels. Against the background of the creation of a hydrogen infrastructure as part of the transformation, these are also understandable at the distribution grid level.”