StromVKG
Germany's capacity-payment law for hydrogen-ready gas plants; 9 July plenary vote, 1 September first auction.
Germany's capacity-payment law for gas plants passed its final Bundestag reading on 9 July 2026, but Bundesnetzagentur still listed European Commission state-aid approval for its two auction tranches as outstanding as of 10 July.
Last refreshed: 23 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Will the Südbonus survive the 9 July Bundestag plenary, or does StromVKG pass clean?
Timeline for StromVKG
Germany bids capacity into a legal gap
European Energy MarketsBerlin's 9 GW auctions await Brussels
European Energy MarketsStromVKG passes, bid ceiling up 41%
European Energy MarketsGerman power hits EUR 195 on dead wind
European Energy MarketsStromVKG hearing keeps Sept date intact
European Energy MarketsBackground
The Stromversorgungskostensenkungsgesetz (StromVKG) is Germany's statutory framework for capacity payments to gas-fired power plants. It creates a revenue floor for operators that keep dispatchable generation on standby even when wholesale prices make running uneconomical, aiming to prevent stranded-asset closures of the gas fleet ahead of sufficient firm-capacity alternatives.
The law targets 11 GW of hydrogen-ready gas capacity across two auction tranches, at a cost approaching EUR 3bn a year from 2031. Bundesnetzagentur administers the auction process; European Commission state-aid clearance for the scheme is a precondition industry and regulators track separately from the domestic legislative timetable.
Its passage exposed a live domestic fault line: a south-Germany siting premium, the Sudbonus, was contested by trade unions as structurally unjustified toward eastern operators, while the Greens pushed unsuccessfully for binding hydrogen-conversion conditions on winning bidders.
Law passes final legislative vote
StromVKG passed its second and third Bundestag readings on 9 July, having cleared cabinet on 8 June and committee stage on 24 June with the 1 September first-auction date intact. The final text sets its own bid ceiling at EUR 244,000/MW, a 41% lift written in during committee to keep the September auction from under-clearing, splits bidding one-third north and two-thirds south, and eases entry for battery-storage bidders; it passed with CDU/CSU and SPD votes against the AfD, the Greens and the Left.
Bundesnetzagentur, which will run the auctions, still listed European Commission state-aid approval for the two 4.5 GW tranches as outstanding on its own StromVKG page, last revised 10 July, a clearance the law needs before its September first auction can proceed.
Law passes final legislative vote
What is the Südbonus in the German capacity market?
When is the Bundestag voting on StromVKG?
When will Germany's gas-plant capacity auctions start?
What is the StromVKG and what does it pay gas plants for?
Why does Germany need capacity payments for gas plants?
Does StromVKG require EU state-aid clearance?
