Opportunities for Customer-Owned Utilities, Tenant-Generated Electricity, and Neighborhoods

Energy sharing can take place in different spatial contexts. The first white paper in this series provided an in‑depth description of energy sharing using the public grid, based on the new Section 42c of the German Energy Industry Act (EnWG). The focus of this second white paper is on options for implementing energy sharing concepts within a multi‑family building, a neighborhood (Quartier), or an industrial or commercial park. It explains the implications of the EnWG amendment for the customer installation (Kundenanlage) and for collective electricity usage models.

Overview of Whitepaper 2:

• Status quo of decentralized collective electricity utilization within a confined geographic area:
  tenant electricity models, collective building supply, on‑site industrial self‑supply, energy sharing in an industrial context, and the Kundenanlage
• Implications of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruling on the Kundenanlage and the EnWG amendment: continued substantial legal uncertainties for the housing sector and commercial/industrial operators
• Potential alternatives – opportunities arising from a new regulatory framework:
  neighborhood‑scale energy concepts and “light distribution networks” for cross‑building local energy solutions, as well as opportunities enabled by the introduction of Section 42c EnWG

For whom is this topic relevant?

• Stakeholders in local energy projects– housing sector actors, municipal stakeholders, local authorities, landlords and tenants
• Industry and commercial enterprises – logistics industry
• Energy suppliers, municipal utilities (Stadtwerke), and energy service providers

Decentralized collective electricity‑use models within a building, a multi‑family residential property, or an industrial park have so far been implemented under the Tenant Electricity Scheme (Mieterstrom) (§ 42a EnWG), the Collective Building Supply Scheme (GGV) (§ 42b EnWG), or operational self‑supply models.
These models of local electricity use have functioned to date due to the specific privileges associated with the Kundenanlage. A Kundenanlage was previously defined in § 3 No. 24a EnWG as an energy installation located within a spatially connected area (or connected by a direct line of no more than 5 km), connected to a grid or a generation plant, economically insignificant in terms of competition, and enabling final consumers to freely and non‑discriminatorily choose their electricity supplier. Under these conditions, a Kundenanlage was not considered or operated as a distribution grid, significantly reducing the obligations for the operator, and the electricity shared within the Kundenanlage was exempt from all grid fees, taxes, levies, and surcharges.

The ruling of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) of 13 May 2025 (following the European Court of Justice ruling of 18 November 2024) altered this legal framework, creating legal uncertainty for operators of Kundenanlagen and the associated supply concepts. The EnWG amendment of 13 November 2025 resolved part of these uncertainties, but numerous questions remain open [1] [2].

In particular, for new building‑spanning concepts, the amendment of the legal framework has removed certain privileges or incentives. The introduction of the new § 42c EnWG, which establishes a regulatory framework for implementing energy sharing using the public electricity grid, does not represent a direct alternative to building‑spanning tenant electricity models. However, it opens regulatory options for implementing decentralized supply concepts using the public grid.

Since tenant electricity has become a successful instrument for enabling participation by the housing sector and tenants (including vulnerable consumer groups) in the energy transition since its introduction in 2017, it can be expected that legislators together with the EU will continue working on further adjustments to the EnWG. The associated discussions would provide a valuable opportunity to consider possible extensions of tenant electricity (Mieterstrom) and collective building supply (GGV) models to neighborhoods (Quartiere), in order to give more urban consumers access to local, affordable, renewable electricity.

Outlook and next steps:

Within the research project Scalable Integration of Energy Sharing (SkIES), funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, the technical, economic, and regulatory conditions required for a holistic and scalable implementation of energy sharing in Germany are being investigated  [3]. The objective is to address all questions regarding the concrete, scalable, and interoperable implementation of energy sharing through multiple field trials.

Options for advancing the energy transition in urban areas particularly questions surrounding the implementation of tenant electricity, GGV models, and the role of neighborhoods (Quartiere) in the energy transition are therefore also central elements of this project.

We look forward to engaging with you to discuss your challenges and solution approaches, to provide insights into the project, and to jointly develop tailored solutions for your needs. Please feel free to reach out!

Literature

[1] Bundesgerichtshof Verhandlungstermin, 13 Mai 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.bundesgerichtshof.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2025/2025071.html?nn=19778950.
[2] Bundesgesetzblatt, 22 Dezember 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.recht.bund.de/bgbl/1/2025/347/VO.html.
[3] FfE, SkIES – Skalierbare Integration von EnergySharing,“ ffe.de/projekte/skies-skalierbare-integration-von-energy-sharing/, 2025.

Weitere Informationen

• Energy Sharing: Use Cases aus dem Projekt SkIES
• Scalable Integration of Energy Sharing