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2026年1月14日
Publication series – 2 / 75 观点
Electricity Tax Amendment 2025/2026: New rules for BESS, charging infrastructure and renewable energies
- Briefing
With the amendment to the Energy and Electricity Tax Act, which came into force on 23 December 2025, legislators are responding systematically for the first time to the long-changed realities of the energy transition. Until now, electrification, decentralised generation, storage technologies and new mobility concepts have been inadequately reflected in tax law. The aim of the reform is to stop tax uncertainties from slowing down investment and to create legal and planning certainty for modern energy applications.
This article focuses on the amendments to the Electricity Tax Act and the Electricity Tax Implementation Ordinance, which address three areas that are central to the future energy system: battery storage, charging infrastructure and renewable generation facilities.
Battery storage – a tax-recognised flexibility component
One of the most important changes concerns the tax treatment of electricity storage facilities. For the first time, the Electricity Tax Act defines storage facilities as technology-neutral and recognises the temporary storage of electricity as an independent process that does not constitute electricity consumption. This removes one of the biggest practical hurdles, namely the frequent double taxation of electricity during storage and retrieval.
In future, electricity that has already been taxed or was allowed to be withdrawn tax-free will not be subject to electricity tax again when it is converted back into electricity. This regulation applies regardless of whether it concerns battery storage, PtX applications or other forms of storage. For operators of co-location projects, charging parks with buffer storage or multifunctional storage facilities, this means a considerable gain in investment and operational security. Storage facilities are treated for tax purposes as they are systemically: infrastructure for flexibility and not end consumers.
Battery storage / renewable energies – exemption from utility status
Until now, operators of BESS or EE systems were often subject to obligations under electricity tax law, as they were classified as suppliers requiring a licence. With this amendment, the legislator aims to reduce the bureaucratic hurdles for such operators and exempt them (at least partially) from supplier obligations. For battery storage, this applies if the electricity from the battery storage is supplied exclusively at the location of the storage facility and without using the general electricity supply network, or if the electricity is only supplied to parties other than end consumers and the storage operator is not a supplier for other reasons.
For renewable energy operators, the supplier status now no longer applies to plants above 2 MW if they supply the electricity exclusively to so-called redistributors, i.e. to a direct marketer, another energy supply company or market the electricity directly via the exchange. At the same time, the licensing requirements for cross-deliveries within renewable energy parks no longer apply, so that electricity can flow between plant operators without additional tax administration costs.
Renewable energies – less restriction, more location logic
In addition to supplier status, the amendment aims to introduce further changes and simplifications for renewable energies. The previous general definition of electricity from renewable energy sources is being abandoned and replaced by a specific list of eligible energy sources in the respective tax exemption provisions. This is to prevent electricity tax definitions from unintentionally spilling over into other areas of law. In future, biomass, sewage gas and landfill gas will no longer be tax-exempt.
At the same time, the so-called plant grouping for renewable energy plants at different locations will be abolished. For tax assessment purposes, it will no longer be the plant network that is decisive, but the location of the individual generation plant. This will make it easier to operate wind and solar parks in particular.
Charging infrastructure – clear responsibility instead of tax grey areas
The amendment also provides fundamental clarification in electromobility. The newly introduced Section 5a of the Electricity Tax Act explicitly regulates the tax treatment of charging points for the first time. In future, the operator of the charging point will be decisive. This operator is considered the purchaser of the electricity and is therefore responsible for tax. Users of electric vehicles, on the other hand, will not become tax debtors or suppliers. Overall, this avoids the need to examine complex business models “within the charging station.”
The new regulation is particularly relevant for bidirectional charging. Electricity flowing back from the vehicle to the charging point does not establish supplier status or tax liability for the vehicle owner. If this electricity is consumed directly on site and without using the general electricity grid, no electricity tax is payable. The law thus creates legal certainty for the first time for V2B and V2X concepts as well as for charging infrastructures in depots and at commercial locations.
Outlook: modernisation with implementation tasks
The amendment to the Electricity Tax Act is an important step towards modernisation in practice. For the first time, it creates a tax framework that is compatible with decentralised, flexible and electrified energy systems. It opens up new economic opportunities for storage, renewable energy and charging infrastructure projects. However, the newly created opportunities can only be exploited if technical, contractual and tax structures are properly coordinated.
In this respect, implementation remains challenging in some areas, as complex measurement and demarcation issues, particularly in the case of multiple use of electricity, remain significant.
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