Brussels, 26/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 25 November, the European Commission authorised the application of the German law (EEG 2014) on renewable energies to be applied to the railway sector.
According to the European institution, the state aid under the German regime is limited to compensation for railway companies (which consume more than 2 GW of electricity a year) for the opportunity costs related to using a greener mode of transport. In this way, the aid pursues objectives of general interest in the field of transport, without distorting competition on the single market.
The aim of the German EEG 2014 law is to support the production of electricity from renewable sources of energy. The support is paid for out of contributions from electricity consumers ('EEG levy'). The reductions in the EEG levy granted to the German railway sector were examined in light of the 2008 guidelines on state aid to rail transport.
The Commission found that the reductions complied with the upper limits authorised by these guidelines: the aid does not exceed 30% of the total cost of the railway transport, or 50% of the admissible costs. This situation equates to compensating the railway companies for the opportunity costs related to the use of a greener mode of transport. (MB)