Digitalising the Energy Transition

Reading paths through ten topic fields

Reading paths through ten topic fields of the energy transition: grid, metering, market communication, generation, markets, flexibility, heat, sales, cyber, IT.

Status: 14 October 2026Digitalising the Energy Transition

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The book's eight chapters cover metering and control. That's the core of the energy transition, not all of it. For everything around it there are articles on innobu.com, often several on one question, and the site search sorts them by date. Not by what you need to read first.

So this page sorts them by hand. One sequence per topic field, from the basic question to the detail. Read a path from the top and each article only assumes what the ones above it have explained.

Grid and low voltage

What does a grid operator actually see in the low-voltage grid? For a long time, very little of what happened on its own cables. So the path starts with the digital secondary substation and the control systems it now feeds. Grid-oriented control and its software come next. At the end: planning, forecasting and maintenance, down to cable diagnostics and drone inspection. The measurements and the control chain behind all this are in chapters 4 and 5.

19 articles in reading order · Grid & low voltage →

1. Digital Secondary Substations: Low-Voltage Grid in ViewDigital secondary substations make the low-voltage grid observable: E.ON's rollout, around 28,000 stations by end of 2026 and the basis for section 14a EnWG.
2. LV Control System & CLS-Management under §14aWestfalen Weser Netz couples a low-voltage control system (LV-SCADA) with CLS-management for the first time. How §14a EnWG becomes real-time grid control.
3. DERMS: Distribution Grid OrchestrationA DERMS forecasts and steers PV, storage, heat pumps and EV chargers in the grid. From 2029, Section 14a requires dynamic, measurement-based control.
4. Redispatch 3.0: Congestion Management with FlexibilityRedispatch 3.0 is industry framing, not law. How EVs, heat pumps and home batteries become grid flexibility, and what the DataFleX project tests.
5. Grid Package 2026: Flexible Connection & EEG ReformGermany's grid package and EEG reform want faster connections at the bottleneck. The redispatch proviso versus the EWE and EnBW FCA model, explained.
6. Grid Connection Bottlenecks for Charging Parks: Digitalising Grid-Operator ProcessingPowerful charging parks wait over a year for their grid connection. Germany's 2026 grid connection package and digital grid-operator processes aim to change that.
7. Grid Scenarios 2027: What Sits in the Distribution GridMost of the 2027 scenario framework's assumptions are distribution assets. Via path B they land in your own regional scenario. Consultation closes 28.09.2026.
8. AI Grid Simulation: Congestion Analysis for the Section 14d PlanFrom 31 October 2026, section 14d EnWG requires grid expansion plans. How AI grid simulation speeds up congestion analysis for distribution grid operators.
9. AI Load Forecasting for Grid Operators 2026Load and generation forecasting is now mandatory for distribution grid operators. How AI lifts forecast quality and cuts balancing energy costs.
10. Quality Regulation 2026, the BNetzA Data Collection and the Evolution of SAIDIIn 2026 the BNetzA collects data for quality regulation. What the ruling requires, how SAIDI changes and what network capacity means for distribution grids.
11. 2027 Network Charges: The 15 October DeadlineSection 20 EnWG puts the 2027 network charges online by 15 October 2026. What German distribution operators have to calculate, check and publish by then.
12. NEST Gas: the rate of return is one parameter, the rulebook is being swappedFrom the fifth regulatory period German gas grid operators no longer work under ARegV and GasNEV but under RAMEN Gas and GasNEF. What the change means for the cost review.
13. IEC 61850 in the digital substation: protection and controlIEC 61850 makes the substation digital: station bus, process bus and sampled values replace up to 80 percent of copper. SCL and security explained.
14. Transformer Online Monitoring: Condition-Based Maintenance for the High-Voltage GridOnline monitoring makes transformers condition-based: DGA, partial discharge, hot-spot. Why that matters when a replacement takes 18 to 36 months.
15. Medium-Voltage Cable Diagnostics: Tan Delta and Partial Discharge as Predictive MaintenanceTan delta and partial discharge assess medium-voltage cables without digging. How cable diagnostics turns distribution-grid maintenance predictive.
16. Underground Cable Monitoring: DTS and RTTRDTS measures cable temperature, RTTR turns it into a rating. Why that belongs in the congestion analysis due with the German grid plan on 31 October 2026.
17. LiDAR Corridor Surveys: Grid Vegetation Becomes MeasurableNetze BW finds a third more vegetation risks with LiDAR, E.DIS cuts costs 30 percent with satellite analysis. What grid operators can take from it.
18. AI-assisted drone inspection of power grids: BVLOS and automatic image recognitionGrid operators inspect overhead lines and pylons with drones and automatic image recognition. What BVLOS flights make possible, which EU rules (SORA 2.5, U-space) apply and what TenneT, Netze BW and other operators already do.
19. AI Against Blackouts: Keeping Europe's Grid StableFraunhofer uses AI to prevent blackouts: 500 grid interventions a day, explainable operator assistance and what companies should do now.

Smart metering, SMGW and §14a

The field this book comes from. The articles go further than the chapters can: the 2025 amendment of the Metering Point Operation Act, the new gateway generation, gateway administration under TR-03109-6, the control box in mass installation. Then rollout quotas, supervisory proceedings and contracts. Multi-utility metering, heat cost billing and tenant electricity come last, because they build on the metering questions before them. PV control and direct marketing now sit in the generation path.

18 articles in reading order · Smart metering, SMGW & §14a →

1. MsbG Amendment 2025: Higher Price Caps and New DutiesThe 2025 MsbG amendment raises the price caps for smart metering for the first time since 2016. What changes on charges, the holding period and data duties.
2. Next-generation SMGW: LTE-450 and WAN connectivityLTE-450, powerline or mobile: which WAN link the smart meter gateway needs where, which TAF are mandatory and why dynamic tariffs run on TAF 7.
3. BSI TR-03109-6 v2.0: What Gateway Administrators Must Meet From 2027BSI TR-03109-6 v2.0 has been out since December 2025 and is binding from 2027 with the next recertification. What gateway administrators must mind on ISMS, audit and Section 25 MsbG.
4. Scaling the SMGW Backend: Meter Data Management and PKI for Millions of DevicesHow to scale the SMGW backend of GWA system, head-end system and meter data management in a PKI-compliant way to millions of devices.
5. EEBUS and IEC 63380: The Common Language of Energy DevicesEEBUS connects heat pump, wallbox, HEMS and smart meter gateway. What IEC 63380 actually covers, how SPINE and SHIP work and what it means for Section 14a.
6. Control Box & Section 14a: Grid Control 2026The control box puts section 14a EnWG into action at the device. In 2026 the hardware is certified, yet grid operators send almost no commands. The last mile.
7. CLS Management and the aEMT RoleCLS management is an operating function, not hardware. What the aEMT role demands and what German utilities must have running by the end of 2026.
8. Control Box Rollout 2026: Fitting and ProofA 23.3 percent smart meter quota and eight certified control boxes, yet the mass rollout stalls. What meter operators must settle in 2026.
9. Rollout Quota 2026: The Period Quota under Section 45 MsbGThe 31.12.2026 quota does not measure the installed base but the metering points that newly fell due since February 2025. What that means for rollout planning.
10. Smart Meter Rollout: Supervisory Proceedings and the BNetzA Sanction RegimeSince March 2026 the BNetzA has opened proceedings against 434 metering operators, 150 now closed. What Section 76 MsbG and penalty payments mean for the gMSB.
11. Standardised Metering Contracts from 2026: What BK6-24-125 Means for the gMSBBK6-24-125 makes three standard contracts in electricity metering binding from 1 July 2026. What MSB-RV, MSV-AN and MSV-LF, the new penalty and the changeover mean for the gMSB.
12. Gateway Administrator Switch at Scale: How SMGW Administration Is Handed OverHow the administration of thousands of smart meter gateways is handed over remotely when the metering operator changes. switchGWA, the VDE-FNN note, WiM Strom and what practice shows.
13. Competitive metering point operation: the make-or-buy decision 2025-2027Grid-responsible and competitive metering point operation compared: gMSB, wMSB and the make-or-buy decision 2025-2027. What quotas, BK6-24-125 and outsourcing models mean for utilities.
14. Multi-utility remote reading via the SMGW: gas, water and heat at the LMNHow gas, water and heat meters bind to the smart meter gateway over wireless M-Bus. The LMN interface, OMS Security Profile B, TAF 6 and 7, section 6 MsbG and the municipal-utility advantage.
15. Heating Costs Ordinance: Remote Reading Mandatory by the End of 2026By 31 December 2026 heat metering must be remotely readable. What the Heating Costs Ordinance requires on deadlines, monthly consumption information and reduction rights.
16. FFVAV: Remote-Readable Heat Meters Mandatory by End of 2026The FFVAV requires district-heating suppliers to make all heat meters remotely readable by 31 Dec 2026 and deliver monthly consumption info. What to do now.
17. Virtual Sum Meter: Tenant Electricity in Apartment BuildingsThe virtual sum meter and Solar Package I make tenant electricity in apartment buildings affordable: metering concept, GGV under section 42b EnWG and rollout explained.
18. Smart Meter Rollout 2026: Data Base for AI GridsBy mid-2026 only 5.9 percent smart meters, and proceedings against 434 operators since March 2026. Why the stalled rollout starves AI grid management of data.

Market communication and market processes

Chapter 7 explains the principle. The articles start where practice does: the state of the formats in 2026, then master data, where most clarification cases begin. Supplier switching within 24 hours, quarter-hour settlement and the MaBiS hub follow. Gas runs on its own processes and rules, so it gets a block of its own near the end. Last come guarantees of origin, reporting duties and AI in balancing group management.

15 articles in reading order · Market communication & market processes →

1. MaKo 2026: EDIFACT, AS4 and API Web ServicesMaKo 2026: EDIFACT stays, AS4 is the mandatory transport, and API web services cover MaLo-Ident and control. Formats, deadlines and roadmap at a glance.
2. Master Data Quality in Market CommunicationMaster data quality decides whether a supplier switch completes or becomes a clearing case. What utilities must clean up before GeLi Gas 2.0 and the MaBiS hub.
3. 24h Supplier Switch (LFW24): Mandatory in 2026 and the GPKE RebuildGermany's 24-hour supplier switch (LFW24) becomes mandatory on 1 January 2026. What LFW24, the MaLo-ID and the GPKE rebuild mean for utilities.
4. GPKE and Feed-in Processes: Integrating the MPES Processes in 2025On 6 June 2025 the MPES feed-in processes move into the GPKE. What the generating metering point, the new GPKE structure and the end of the MPES mean for direct marketers.
5. ZSG Quarter-Hour Balancing: From Load Profile to Measured DataZSG data stream and quarter-hour balancing under BK6-24-174, replacing the standard load profile.
6. MaBiS-Hub: Central Balancing Settlement, Start Date OpenThe MaBiS-Hub centralises balancing settlement for power. What the BNetzA procedure BK6-24-210, the two-block structure and the open timeline mean for grid operators, municipal utilities and balancing group managers.
7. Standard Balancing Group Contract BK6-23-102: What Changes for Balancing Group ResponsiblesThe new standard balancing group contract (BK6-23-102) applies since October 2024 and tightens duties on security deposit, schedule management and declaration.
8. Electronic Price Sheet for Electricity: Price Sheet 3 and Reactive PowerThe electronic price sheet makes the network usage invoice machine-checkable. Price sheet 3 covers reactive power, governed by the BNetzA ruling BK6-20-160.
9. GeLi Gas 2.0: Gas Supplier Switching from 2026GeLi Gas 2.0 brings new gas supplier-switching processes from 1 Apr 2026 under BNetzA BK7-19-001. What changes, how it differs from GeLi Gas 3.0 and what gas suppliers should do now.
10. WiM Gas 2.0: Gas Metering Switch Processes from 2026WiM Gas 2.0, gas metering switch processes from 1 Oct 2026, BK7-19-001, sector coupling to the electricity smart meter gateway.
11. GasNZV Replacement 2026: KARLA, GaBi, GeLi 3.0, ZuBioGasNZV expires 31 Dec 2025 (CJEU C-718/18), replaced by four BNetzA rulings from 2026.
12. Guarantees of Origin for Electricity: The HkRNDV Amendment and Power LabellingGermany's electricity HKNR, the 2025 HkRNDV amendment and power labelling from 2027. Why subsidised power gets no guarantee of origin and what drives the greenwashing debate.
13. Guarantees of Origin for Gas and Hydrogen: the New UBA RegisterNew UBA guarantee-of-origin register for gas and hydrogen, EU obligation from RED II, launch expected 2026.
14. HEDWIG: energy market data under §111g EnWGGermany's regulator pulls energy market data into one hub. What §111g EnWG demands: JSON, 15-minute cadence, backfill to 1 January 2022.
15. AI in Balancing Group Management: Cut reBAP CostImbalance energy is the cost block a balancing group manager actually controls. What the reBAP punishes and what AI forecasts really deliver.

Flexibility, storage and grid charges

Why is a quarter-hour reading worth money? The answer starts with tariffs and the day-ahead market, so those two articles open the path. Then the grid charge reform, which is to apply from 2029. Storage, bidirectional charging and energy sharing come after it. Whether they pay off depends on both.

10 articles in reading order · Flexibility, storage & grid charges →

1. Tariff Models 2026: Germany's Electricity MarketDynamic tariffs, Section 14a grid fees and energy sharing reshape Germany's electricity market in 2026, and why the new tariff models need automatic control.
2. 15-Minute Day-Ahead: 96 Products Instead of 24Since 1 October 2025 the day-ahead market trades quarter-hours. What utilities must change in forecasting, trading, risk and settlement.
3. AgNes Network Tariff Reform: New Power Pricing from 2029AgNes reforms German power network charges from 1 Jan 2029, new cost allocation, generators and storage to contribute.
4. Industrial Network Charges: The End of the Baseload Privilege and Industrial Flexibility MarketingThe §19 StromNEV baseload privilege is ending. From 2029, flexibility-based network charges replace the rebate for energy-intensive industry.
5. Battery Storage Grid-Fee Exemption: Grandfathering to 2029, then AgNesBattery storage is exempt from grid fees for 20 years under Section 118 EnWG, but only if commissioned by 4 August 2029. Then AgNes resets the charges.
6. Bidirectional Charging and V2G: The MiSpeL Ruling 2026MiSpeL and the EnWG amendment treat bidirectional charging points like storage and end the double network-charge burden on V2G. Deadline 30 June 2026.
7. Vehicle-to-Grid 2026: the Business ModelSince 2026, V2G power no longer pays double grid fees. How aggregators earn up to 500 euro per vehicle through arbitrage, balancing power and section 14a.
8. Virtual Power Plants 2026: AI and Battery Storage in GermanyGermany exceeds 27 GWh battery storage. AI platforms manage virtual power plants. What energy providers need to know and do now.
9. Energy Sharing under Section 42c EnWG: 2026 RealityFrom 1 June 2026 energy sharing under Section 42c EnWG is a legal right, yet the smart meter base is missing. What is mandatory and what is not.
10. Energy Sharing 2028: Across the Grid BoundaryFrom 1 June 2028 energy sharing reaches into the neighbouring grid. Germany's regulator sees no duties for grid operators. What still needs settling.

Heat, gas and hydrogen

Municipal heat planning first. Almost everything else in this field follows from it. Then the data the planning needs, the duties of heat network operators, district heating technology from large heat pumps to seasonal storage, and finally the gas grid, caught between conversion to hydrogen and decommissioning.

17 articles in reading order · Heat, gas & hydrogen →

1. Municipal heat planning: what the 30 June 2026 deadline means for large citiesBy 30 June 2026, 84 large German cities over 100,000 inhabitants must deliver a municipal heat plan. What the WPG's four-step method, the zoning into district-heating, review and decentralised areas and the link to the Building Energy Act mean for utilities.
2. Digital Heat Cadastre: The Data Foundation of Municipal Heat PlanningThe digital heat cadastre is the data foundation of municipal heat planning. How GIS, LoD2 building data and Section 11 WPG work together, and what matters in 2026.
3. Heat Planning Data Space in the WPG Amendment 2026Germany's May 2026 WPG amendment creates the heat planning data space, a nationwide IT infrastructure for municipal heat planning. What it means for utilities.
4. The section 32 WPG decarbonisation roadmap: a duty for heat-network operators by end 2026Operators of existing heat networks must submit a decarbonisation roadmap under section 32 WPG by 31 December 2026. What the targets (30 percent green from 2030, 80 percent from 2040, climate-neutral by 2045), the Annex 3 content and the BEW route mean for utilities.
5. BEW Relaunch 2026: New BAFA Guidance and the End of Transformation-Plan FundingFrom 1 April 2026 the BEW stops funding transformation plans. What the new BAFA guidance changes, what stays eligible and which deadline applies.
6. Power-to-heat and large heat pumps: the electrification of district heatingLarge heat pumps and power-to-heat decarbonise district heating: the heat pump supplies the base load from ambient heat, the electrode boiler the flexible peak from surplus power. What heat sources, flagship projects, the Geothermal Acceleration Act and BEW funding mean.
7. Large heat pumps: digital dispatch optimizationIn a hybrid energy centre the software decides which unit runs. How forecasting, thermal storage and MPC cut costs by up to 27 percent.
8. Seasonal Thermal Storage: Aquifer and TTES 2026Aquifer and pit thermal stores shift summer heat into winter. Why forecasting and MPC are what make seasonal storage pay off.
9. 5GDHC and Cold District Heating: Why These Networks Need Digital ControlFifth-generation heat networks only work with digital control: sensors, AI load forecasting and model-predictive control, plus German pilot projects.
10. AI in District Heating: Network Optimization and the Transformation Plan under WPGAI lowers return temperatures in heat networks, forecasts the load and delivers the data foundation for the transformation plan under Section 32 WPG.
11. AVBFernwärmeV Reform: New District-Heating Price Clauses and the Heat-Price IndexThe AVBFernwärmeV reform reshapes district-heating price-adjustment clauses: cost element, market element from the Destatis heat-price index CC13-77 and new digital transparency duties.
12. Heat and cooling guarantees of origin: the UBA register starts in 2026Germany's environment agency launches the heat and cooling guarantees of origin register in 2026. What the GWKHV means for district heating and green heat.
13. The Innovative CHP Tender Gap from 2026: the Last Auction and the Missing Legal FrameworkThe last scheduled innovative CHP tender has run, and no rules cover 2026. What the regulatory gap means for district heating, investment and digital control.
14. Gas Grid Transformation Plan (GTP): H2 Infrastructure Planning 2025The gas network area transformation plan maps conversion, repurposing and decommissioning of gas distribution grids toward hydrogen.
15. EnWG Amendment 2026: The EU Gas and Hydrogen Package in German LawThe EnWG amendment 2026 transposes the EU gas and hydrogen package, with hydrogen network regulation and unbundling.
16. Biogas Grid Access from 2026: The ZuBio RulingThe BNetzA ZuBio ruling reorders biogas grid access from 2026, but the grid connection stays a regulatory gap with a transition until the end of 2026.
17. Gas WACC 3.76%: Rate of Return from 2028Germany's regulator proposes a 3.76 percent rate of return for gas grids from 2028. The consultation closes on 14 September 2026.

Sales, portals and e-mobility

Short and practical. The grid connection portal is a legal obligation, so it goes first. Customer platforms and service follow. Charging infrastructure, with its own standards from ISO 15118 to OCPP, closes the path.

7 articles in reading order · Sales, portals & e-mobility →

1. Grid Connection Portal Duty under Section 8(7) EEGSince 2025 every German grid operator must run a web portal for connection requests up to 30 kW. What Section 8(7) EEG requires and which deadlines now apply.
2. Prosumer Platforms and White-Label Apps 2026White-label apps from Vattenfall, Zählerfreunde and beegy let utilities run PV, heat pump and wallbox as a prosumer platform under their own brand.
3. AI Customer Service and Churn Prevention at UtilitiesAI cuts customer-service handling time at utilities by up to 50 percent and flags churn early. What works, and what GDPR and the EU AI Act require of scoring.
4. ISO 15118-20 and Plug and Charge: the AFIR Mandate for 2026 and 2027From 2026 AFIR requires ISO 15118 for new public charging points, from 2027 the ISO 15118-20 version. What Plug and Charge, PKI and the backend mean for operators.
5. OCPP 2.1 (IEC 63584-210): Smart Charging and V2GOCPP 2.1 is now the IEC 63584-210 standard. What the new V2G and smart charging features mean for grid-operator control under section 14a EnWG.
6. DATEX II: Charging Data Obligation 2026Since 14 April 2026, operators of public charging points must provide their data in the DATEX II standard via the Mobilithek. What AFIR Article 20 requires and how the data chain works.
7. GEIG Amendment 2026: the new building charging obligationThe GEIG amendment transposes the EPBD 2024. From 2027 new charging-point and pre-wiring duties apply to buildings from 3 or 5 parking spaces. The overview.

Cybersecurity and resilience

Law first, because NIS2 and the KRITIS umbrella act set liability and deadlines for everything after them. Then the technical duties in operation. Then the threats, from ransomware to wiper malware. How the gateway itself is protected is a separate question, and chapter 3 answers it.

10 articles in reading order · Cybersecurity & resilience →

1. NIS2 & KRITIS Umbrella Law 2026: Deadlines & LiabilityTwo German cyber laws in force in 2026: NIS2 (BSI, fines to 10M euros, management liability) and the KRITIS Umbrella Act (BBK, register from 17 July).
2. IT Security Catalogue under §5c EnWG 2026Germany's IT security catalogue under §5c EnWG replaces the §11 catalogues. What grid and facility operators need to know in 2026: ISMS, ISO 27001, reporting.
3. NCCS: Cybersecurity Code for TSOs and DSOsThe network code on cybersecurity (EU) 2024/1366 obliges grid operators to CSMS, audits and reporting. The deadlines to 2028 and what to do in 2026.
4. OT Security for Energy Plants: IEC 62443 and the CRAFrom 11 September 2026 the first CRA duties hit energy plants. How IEC 62443, with security levels and zones, turns OT security into a mandatory framework.
5. Attack Detection in OT Networks: Audit and ProofEnergy operators must run an attack detection system in the OT network and prove it to the BSI every two years. What the maturity audit requires.
6. Ransomware Resilience for Municipal Utilities: Reporting and Evidence Duties under NIS2Since 6 December 2025 NIS2 binds municipal utilities too: a reporting cascade of 24 hours, 72 hours and one month after ransomware, plus an evidence duty.
7. Post-quantum cryptography for critical energy infrastructureThe BSI is ending classical encryption. Migration to post-quantum cryptography for critical energy infrastructure by 2030, 2031 and 2035.
8. Chinese PV Inverters as a Security RiskAbout 80% of Europe's inverters are Chinese. What the EU high-risk vendor list, the 2026 funding ban and the BSI warning mean for grid operators.
9. DynoWiper and Sandworm: Wiper Malware Against Energy PlantsIn late 2025 the Sandworm group hit Poland's power supply with the DynoWiper malware, threatening 500,000 customers. What the failed attack means for Europe.
10. Counter-drone defense at energy facilities: what Germany's KRITIS umbrella law now requiresSince March 2026 the KRITIS umbrella law requires physical protection of energy facilities. What is legal against drones, and how detection works.

IT architecture, data and AI

A utility's system landscape is changing in several places at once. The path starts with the billing platform and the move away from SAP IS-U, runs through European data spaces and digital identities, and ends with AI: the rules the AI Act and national supervision set for it, and what using it in-house looks like.

7 articles in reading order · IT architecture, data & AI →

1. SAP S/4HANA Utilities: IS-U and the ECC End in 2030SAP IS-U runs on ECC, whose maintenance ends in 2027 and 2030. This guide covers the move to S/4HANA Utilities, clean core and the migration paths.
2. The Common European Energy Data Space (CEEDS)The Common European Energy Data Space (CEEDS) is meant to connect national data spaces. What the EU roadmap of June 2026 says about it and what it does not.
3. energy data-X: the Gaia-X data space for energyenergy data-X is the Gaia-X lighthouse project for the energy sector. What its data space delivered by 2025 and how DataFleX takes it into practice from 2026.
4. dena DIVE: digital identities in energy systemsThe dena project DIVE makes plants in the energy system digitally verifiable. Self-sovereign identity, the SM-PKI and the EUDI wallet.
5. EU AI Act: High-Risk AI in Energy InfrastructureWhen AI in energy supply counts as high-risk under Annex III and which duties apply from 2 December 2027. The energy sector view of the EU AI Act.
6. KI-MIG: supervision of your AI now has an addressSince 29 July 2026 the Bundesnetzagentur supervises the EU AI Act in Germany. The act adds no duties, it adds an authority that can request documents and test systems.
7. Sovereign AI Coding Stack for UtilitiesOpen-weight models behind an EU inference provider instead of a US cloud: how utilities run AI coding agents under NIS2. The three layers explained.

Generation and direct marketing

The book only touches generation at the edges, for example where chapter 7 places feed-in points in the GPKE. This path starts with the rules for new plants. First the Solar Peak Act, then the EEG 2027 plans, for small PV systems and for plants from 100 kilowatts. Direct marketing and remote control via the gateway follow, then the rollout quota for generation plants and the virtual power plant at a municipal utility. Dispatchable power plants come last. Grid connection and feed-in processes are in the paths on grid, portals and market communication.

7 articles in reading order · Generation & direct marketing →

1. Solar Peak Law 2025: what applies to new PV systems from 2 kWpThe solar peak law has applied since February 2025. No payment at negative prices and a 60 percent feed-in cap for new PV systems from 2 kW: what operators need to know.
2. EEG 2027 draft: small PV systems without a fixed feed-in tariffGerman EEG draft: new PV under 25 kW loses its fixed tariff. What 36 months of transition, a 50% cap and smart meters from 2 kW mean for grid operators.
3. EEG 2027: Contracts for Difference from 100 kWFrom 2027 the EEG replaces the fixed feed-in tariff above 100 kW with two-sided Contracts for Difference. How the CfD model works and what operators face.
4. Direct Marketing: Remote Control via Smart Meter Gateway from 2028Renewable plants in direct marketing must be remote-controllable via the smart meter gateway from 2028, Section 10b EEG.
5. Generation Rollout Quota: Capacity, Not Meter NumbersThe 31 December 2026 quota measures installed capacity, not installation cases. What section 45(1) no. 2(a) MsbG asks for and how to sort the work.
6. HEMS and virtual power plants at German utilities: build, partner or buyHEMS and virtual power plants at German municipal utilities: build, partner or buy. Five criteria from data control to unbundling, ahead of MiSpeL and EEG 2027.
7. The Power Plant Security Act and H2-ready power plants: from the KWSG to the StromVKGThe Power Plant Security Act (KWSG) never entered into force, its successor is the StromVKG. What the H2-ready obligation for new dispatchable plants, the conversion concept as a bid requirement and the capex-plus-opex funding mean for operators.

Procurement, trading and market design

Chapter 6 explains how the quarter hour came to day-ahead trading; the matching article sits in the flexibility path. This one starts a level higher, with how the market is cut. One bidding zone or several? Then what the EU electricity market reform demands of supply contracts. Wholesale reporting under REMIT II, the capacity market, the European balancing platforms and the planned reimbursement when redispatch runs without balancing adjustment come next. The industrial power price, carbon contracts for difference, carbon storage and hydrogen trading close the path.

10 articles in reading order · Procurement, trading & market design →

1. German Bidding Zone Split: The 2026 DecisionENTSO-E recommended five bidding zones, Germany kept one. What the Bidding Zone Review, 2.8bn euro congestion costs and the action plan mean for companies.
2. EU Electricity Market Design: Consumer Rights 2026The EU electricity market design directive (EMD) requires free supplier choice by 17 July 2026. What electricity suppliers must implement now.
3. REMIT II: Wholesale Energy Reporting Duties 2026REMIT II brings new wholesale energy reporting duties from 29 April 2026: three tiers, shorter deadlines and exposure reporting above 600 GWh.
4. StromVKG Capacity Market: 2026 AuctionsGermany's StromVKG law launches its first capacity market. Bid deadlines 8 September and 22 December 2026, 4.5 GW each, fully digital participation via the BNetzA platform.
5. MARI and PICASSO: how Europe is wiring its balancing markets togetherPICASSO and MARI are merging Europe's balancing markets. In 2026 RTE, Bulgaria and Poland connect, and imbalance spreads fall by up to 55 percent.
6. Redispatch without balancing: cost rules 2027Blended ID-AEP and reBAP price, a €1.35/MWh flat fee, €3.90/MWh retained for late notice: what draft BK8-26-001-A sets. Comments due 21 October 2026.
7. Industrial Electricity Price 2026 to 2028: RulesGermany's industrial electricity price caps power at 5 ct/kWh for energy-intensive firms 2026 to 2028. How the BAFA application and the 50 percent reinvestment work.
8. Carbon Contracts for Difference: Round 2 for IndustryGermany's second carbon contracts for difference round runs until 7 September 2026: EUR 5 billion for the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industry.
9. CCS and CCU in Germany: the KSpTG and the new CO2 transport infrastructureThe Carbon Dioxide Storage and Transport Act (KSpTG) has been in force since 28 November 2025 and enables CCS and CCU at industrial scale. What offshore storage, CO2 pipelines, export under the London Protocol and the emerging CO2 transport network mean for industry.
10. H2Global: the second auction 2025 and EEX as the trading platform for H2 derivativesH2Global bridges the price gap on hydrogen imports with a double auction. What the second auction 2025 (five lots, up to EUR 3 billion, German-Dutch), the HINT.CO HPA-HSA mechanism and EEX as the execution platform mean.

Contents of the handbook

1. 1The legal framework: from the GDEW to today's MsbG
2. 2Devices and architecture: what an intelligent metering system is
3. 3BSI standards, certification and the smart metering PKI
4. 4Tariff use cases: TAF 1 to 16 and version 2.0
5. 5Grid-oriented control under §14a EnWG
6. 6Dynamic tariffs and grid charges in transition
7. 7Market communication: how meter readings become processes
8. 8Rollout practice: figures, supervision and what nobody measures
9. +The model: from the meter to the billing system
10. +Reading paths through ten topic fields
11. +Open questions and negative findings