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Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law Volume 7, 1989 - Issue sup1: Monopoly and Competition in Energy Supply
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Original Articles

Federal Republic of Germany

Gunther Kuehne Professor of Law, Director of the Institute for Mining and Energy Law, Technical University of Clausthal; Honorary Professor of Law, University of Göttingen, Federal Republic of Germany.
Pages 31-46 | Published online: 08 Jun 2015

  • Cf. Art. 8a EEC Treaty.
  • Cf, e.g. the list of national obstacles within the oil sector, in: Energy in Europe—The internal energy market, Special issue—COM (88) 238 final of May 2, 1988, p. 31 et seq.
  • Decision of the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) of March 16, 1971, in: BVerfGE 30, 292 et seq. (324); decision of the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH) of April 15, 1986, in: Lindenmaier-Möhring, No. 34 sub § 1 of the GWB (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen—Law against Restrictive Trade Practices).
  • The Rheinische Braunkohlenwerke AG, which produces 95 per cent, of German lignite, is a 100 per cent, subsidiary of the Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk AG (RWE).
  • For instance, the Bayernwerk, the Hamburgische Electricitätswerke (HEW) and the Berliner Kraft- und Licht (Bewag) are dominated by majority participation of the states of Bavaria, Hamburg and Berlin respectively. Municipalities are dominant shareholders in the RWE, Germany's largest producer.
  • Cf. Büdenbender, Energierecht, 1982, marg. note 1314 et seq. (p. 586 s.). Often the electric utilities are not even separately incorporated but rather a part of municipal administration.
  • The best known case is that of the Hamburger Electricitäts-Werke (HEW), where the state of Hamburg has tried for years to force a clause into the statutes committing the company to abandon its activities in nuclear electricity generation.
  • On the production level several of the big companies are subsidiaries of multinational companies such as Exxon, Shell (BEB) and Mobil. Wintershall is a German private company. Some public influence in the downstream sector is exercised through VEBA Oil.
  • Natural gas production is combined with oil production.
  • This is particularly true of the regional and local levels where most companies combine electricity and gas activities.
  • “Gesetz über das Zollkontingent für feste Brennstoffe” as amended by the 2. Gesetz zur Änderung energierechtlicher Vorschriften of August 25, 1980 (Bundesgesetzblatt (BGB1.)—Federal Gazette—Part 1 p. 1605).
  • 2. Verstromungsgesetz of September 5, 1966 (BGB1. I 545).
  • 3. Verstromungsgesetz of December 13, 1974 (BGB1. I 3473).
  • Cf. Evers, Das Recht der Energieversorgung, 2nd ed. 1983, p. 120 s.
  • Art. 9 para. 1 No. 23 of the Bundesbaugesetz (BBauG, now BauGB) as amended on August 18, 1976 (BGB1. I 2221).
  • Cf. Evers, supra (n. 14), p. 96.
  • Energieeinsparungsgesetz of July 22, 1976 (BGB1. I 1873).
  • For a discussion of legal instruments for saving energy cf. Salje in: Energiewirtschaftliche Tagesfragen 1982, p. 674 et seq.
  • In the range of 1979–1984 energy subsidies amounted to more than DM 120,000 million, cf Düngen in: Zeitschrift für Energiewirtschaft 1984, p. 262 et seq. (263).
  • Cf. Michaelis, Handbuch der Kernenergie, 1986, vol. 1, p. 258.
  • Cf. the Government Subsidisation Report 1987, in: Bundestags-Drucksache 11/1338, p. 32.
  • Coke coal subsidisation alone rose from DM 996 million (1985) to DM 2400 million; cf. Bundestags-Drucksache 11/1338, app. 1 p. 87.
  • Cf. Düngen, supra, (n. 19), p. 267.
  • Cf. Bundestags-Drucksache 11/2684, p. 31.
  • Cf. Düngen, supra (n. 19), p. 268.
  • Cf. Bundestags-Drucksache 11/2684, p. 38.
  • 10 DM per t. for light and 25 DM per t. for heavy fuel oil; cf. “Gesetz zur Änderung des Mineralölsteuergesetzes” of April 26, 1960 (BGB1. I 241).
  • Gesetz zur Änderung von Verbrauchssteuergesetzen of December 20, 1988 (BGB1. I 2270); see also Kunth in: (1989) 7 J.E.R.L. 170.
  • Incompatibility has been advocated by Grabitz, Stillhalteverpflichtungen vor dem Binnenmarkt, Schriftenreihe Europa-Forschung, N.P. Engel Verlag, 1988.
  • See infra sub. D II 2.
  • BGB1. 1965 I p. 777.
  • BGB1. 1966 I p. 545.
  • BGB1. 1974 I p. 3473.
  • BGB1. 1980 I p. 1605. Cf. also COM 88 (238) final (special issue), p. 26.
  • Cf. most recently Seelinger. Instrumente der Steinkohlenverstromung, in: Berg- und Energierecht vor den Fragen der Gegenwart (Festschrift für F. Fabricius, 1989, p. 73 et seq.
  • Cf. Verordnung über den Prozentsatz der Ausgleichsabgabe nach dem Dritten Verstromungsgesetz für das Jahr 1988, BGB1. 1987 I, p. 2599.
  • Cf. Verordnung über den Prozentsatz der Ausgleichsabgabe nach dem Dritten Verstromungsgesetz für das Jahr 1989, BGB1. 1988 I, p. 2235.
  • Cf. AB1. (Official Bulletin) Nr. L 116 of April 28, 1989 (German version), p. 52.
  • The Federal Supreme Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) has confirmed the constitutionality (cf. decision of June 6, 1984 in: Deutsches Verwaltungsblatt 1984, p. 1175 s., confirmed by decision of September 4, 1987–7 C 81.86—The problem is now pending before the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht).
  • See the discussion of the problems by A. Wolf. Der “Jahrhundertvertrag” im Lichte des deutschen und europaischen Kartellrechts”, in: Betriebs-Berater 44 (1989), p. 160 et seq.
  • AB1. (Official Bulletin) Nr. L 177 of July 1, 1986, p. 1 (German version).
  • Cf. supra (n. 34), p. 31 et seq.
  • See supra sub. B II 3 and 5.
  • Cf. First Biennial Report 1973/75 of the German Monopolies Commission, no. 620.
  • Cf. Hofmann, Privatwirtschaft und Staatskontrolle bei der Energieversorgung durch Atomkraft, 1989, p. 28.
  • See the Biennial Report on the Bundeskartellamt for 1987/88, in: Bundestags-Drucksache 11/4611, p. 112 s.
  • At present, a salt cavern at Gorleben (Lower Saxony) is being explored as a possible candidate site for such a permanent repository.
  • The following description is based on Büdenbender, supra (n.6 6), marg. note 1298 et seq (p. 563 et seq).
  • Cf. Klaue, in Immenga/Mestmäcker, GWB-Kommentar zum Kartellgesetz, 1981, Introduct. observations No. 1 et seq.; Büdenbender, supra (n. 6), marg. note 537 et seq.
  • Cf. Report of the Bundestag Economic Committee in: Bundestags-Drucksache 8/3690, p. 31 s.
  • This is the key policy underlying the Energiewirtschaftsgesetz of 1935 that is still in force today. Its main features are: Public investment control over energy installations (Art. 4) and compulsory supply to end consumers in demarcated areas (Art. 6).
  • See the decision of May 31, 1972 in: BGHZ (Official Collection of decisions) vol. 59, p. 42 ss. For example, price differences due to topographic differences in the compared supply areas are never abusive.
  • See also the Biennial Report of the Bundeskartellamt for 1987/88, supra (n. 46), p. 108.
  • Art. 103a has lent great practical importance to the otherwise purely theoretical problem whether a concession agreement with a duration of more than 20 years is a horizontal restriction of competition (cartel)—in this case it is void ab initio (Art. 1 GWB)—or a vertical exclusive agreement—here it would be valid but subject to abuse control under Art. 18 GWB. The Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) normally regards concession agreements as cartels and applies Art. 1 GWB: see BGH, supra (n. 3).
  • As to abuse control over gas rate-making see most recently A. Wolf, Mißbrauchsaufsicht über die Gaspreise in: Betriebs-Berater 44 (1989), p. 993 et seq.
  • Cf. Emmerich, Ist der kartellrechtliche Ausnahmebereich für die leitungsgebundene Versorgungswirtschaft wettbewerbspolitisch gerechtfertigt?, by Der Niedersächsische Minister für Wirtschaft und Verkehr. 1978; see also Emmerich, Kartellrecht, 5th ed. 1988, p. 442 s.
  • EuCJ, dec. of January 27, 1987—45/85 (“fire-insurance”).
  • See e.g. Lukes (ed.), Ein EWG-Binnenmarkt für Elektrizität—Realität oder Utopie, vol. 47 of the series Atomstrom aus Frankreich? vol. 2 of the “Berliner Beiträge zum Weitschaftsrecht”, 1987; Börner, Frankreichstrom nach Deutschland? Ar. 90 II EWGV, Teil I, in Börner (ed.), Das Energiewirtschaftsgesetz im Wandel von fünf Jahrzehnten, vol. 57 of the “Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Energierecht an der Universität zu Köln”, 1987, p. 61 et seq.
  • The Commission has certainly been stimulated by United Kingdom developments on privatisation of the gas and electricity industries.
  • See the official Bundesrat document, Bundesrats-Drucksache 123/89 of March 10, 1989.
  • The Bundesrat has rejected the deletion of the presumption; cf. Recht der Elektrizitätswirtschaft (RdE) 1989, 113.
  • A general “synchronisation” of demarcation and concession agreements has been rejected by the Bundesrat; cf. Recht der Elektrizitätswirtschaft (RdE) 1989, 113.

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