Concession fee; payment

Concession fees are charges paid by energy and water supply companies in return for the right to use public roads for the laying and operation of pipelines and cables used to supply electricity, gas and water directly to end users within the municipal area. For the purposes of this provision, the supply to end users is also deemed to take place where a sub-distributor is supplied with electricity, gas or water via public roads and passes these energy sources and water on to end users without using such roads.

The amount of the relevant concession fee is determined by the concession agreement concluded between the energy or water supply company and the local authority or special-purpose association. This agreement, in turn, is subject to statutory requirements.

Concession fees for electricity and gas are agreed in cents per kilowatt-hour supplied. They form part of the energy price invoiced by the energy supplier to the end customer. The maximum permissible amounts are set out in the ‘Regulation on Concession Fees for Electricity and Gas’. They depend primarily on the size of the municipality (population), the voltage level of the grid connection (low voltage or medium voltage) and the consumption pattern (power and annual consumption). The concession fee for water is calculated in accordance with the ‘Order on the Permissibility of Concession Fees Charged by Companies and Utilities for the Supply of Electricity, Gas and Water to Municipalities and Municipal Associations’. The amount of the fee for the use of the water supply network is calculated as a percentage of the supply services provided to all consumers within the municipal area.