German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche has drafted legislation to reform the expansion of electricity grids and renewable energies, following up on a change of course announced last year.

The expansion of facilities is to be better synchronized with grid expansion, while costs are to be reduced, according to a draft bill made available to dpa.

Reiche, who took office in May last year, has spoken out in favour of focusing energy policy on costs and supply security in light of Germany’s stuttering economy.

Her predecessor Robert Habeck, serving in the post under the previous centre-left administration, heavily promoted the expansion of renewables, primarily from wind and solar power.

In September, Reiche announced she would implement “key measures” to better manage the transition to net zero and make it more affordable.

Germany has committed to climate neutrality by 2045. But in order for the country to stay on course, efforts need to centre on reliability, supply security, affordability and cost-effectiveness, Reiche said at the time.

Despite significant progress in the pace of expansion of electricity distribution networks, grid expansion continues to face “systemic” challenges and obstacles, according to the draft bill.

Grid expansion cannot keep pace with the expansion of installations, it said.

As more and more energy produced from renewable sources is fed into the grid, wind and solar installations are sometimes curtailed to avoid overload, meaning that their output is throttled or switched off – a process known as redispatch.

Operators are entitled to compensation, which costs billions every year.

In a reform of current rules, the ministry plans to exempt new connections to certain parts of the grid known to be particularly strained from compensation in the event of a redispatch.