The energy sector is in tension: Regulatory reforms are being delayed, innovations are accelerating change and battery storage systems are setting the pace. In 2026, Four Dynamics will determine the discourse about future stability or new complexity in the German energy system.
2026 will be a year of acceleration — and a test. Although the energy revolution has picked up speed, it is reaching the limits of its own success. While battery storage systems are being built in record time, system and network management processes are not yet able to reflect the sharp increase in short-term flexibility. As a result, the new technologies bring not only flexibility but also uncertainty.
The pent-up need for reform and the momentum in the expansion of renewable energies and large battery storage systems are leading to an imbalance in the functioning of the energy system. The year 2026 will show which solution components are being found to prepare the energy system for the future. Benedikt Deuchert, Director of Business Development & Regulatory Affairs at Kyon Energy, called four discourses that will define the year 2026.
The process initiated by the Federal Network Agency AgnES (“Procedure for Defining the General Electricity Network Tariff System”) is intended to fundamentally revise the calculation and distribution of network charges — with the aim of making them fairer and more transparent and adapting them to the requirements of a decentralized energy system. As a result, the political and regulatory decisions of recent years have reached their decisive phase in 2026. The AGNES process determines who should bear the enormous costs of the grid infrastructure in the future and thus has consequences for all players in the electricity system. A result is planned by the end of 2026.
For operators of battery storage systems, this reform process is central because its results will determine whether and to what extent storage systems will have to pay network charges in the future. In Kyon's View, Treating Storage as a Combination of Feeder and Consumer, with Indiscriminate Collection of Network Charges Compared to Consumers, Is Not Appropriate and Would Call Into Question the Economic Operation of Storage Systems from the 2030s. Ideas such as symmetrical storage network charges, which have recently also been taken up by the Federal Network Agency, point in the right direction, but are still far too vague when it comes to investment decisions to be made.
The industry is therefore facing a paradoxical situation: The nationwide expansion of large battery storage systems has long been part of the network development plan and is also planned in the 2030s. However, the ongoing expansion of such systems by the private sector remains unclear.
A quick decision for the non-discriminatory use of storage systems in a future network charging regime is therefore absolutely necessary. At the heart of such implementation should be to avoid network-straining behavior and at the same time to encourage -relieving behavior — for example through the symmetrical network charges already mentioned above. This would not only reduce the additional load on the network infrastructure due to the expansion of storage, but would also specifically reduce the load on the network infrastructure.
Parallel to this uncertainty, 2026 creates the market basis for ensuring a stable energy system in which conventional power plants play a subordinate role.
With the Introduction of Market Procurement of Current Reserves Is the basis created to be able to replace so-called rotating masses with synthetic provision of instantaneous reserves in the medium term. In essence, it is about technical systems, such as battery storage systems, contributing to frequency maintenance by providing the energy system with the counterpart of the mass inertia of a rotating generator through targeted short-term energy flows.
The technical characteristics of many battery storage systems allow the provision of positive and negative instantaneous reserves. In addition to providing control energy, battery storage systems will also help, in fractions of a second, to the frequency falling less quickly in the event of a fault, for example, and the situation not becoming critical until the control energy can be called up. The first price lists for the provision of current reserves were published by the transmission system operators in November 2025. It will then be seen whether it is possible to provide current reserves through battery storage systems to cover costs.
Win at the same time Reactive power markets In importance. The provision of reactive power helps to maintain the voltage of the power grid. In some cases, provision is already required free of charge by all subscribers. However, this part cannot be controlled by network operators at all times and is also not sufficient overall to maintain the voltage. The supply of reactive power to the extent required by the technical connection guidelines could become part of the operating strategy for battery storage systems from next year.
This development shows how profoundly the energy system is changing: grid stability is no longer ensured by conventional generation alone, but also by new flexibility options such as battery storage. This strengthens the role of battery storage systems as a key player for system and grid stability — making them an important component of supply security.
The year 2026 marks a breakthrough in the expansion of stationary large battery storage systems. After years of preparation, the nationwide rollout begins this year: Despite regulatory uncertainties, well over one gigawatt of new storage capacity will probably be connected to the grid.
Kyon Energy alone plans to go into operation with up to ten projects and an output of around 400 megawatts. As a result, the market is reaching a new scale. What was considered a promise for the future in the past will become reality in 2026. This boom will change the market: battery storage systems react to price signals, dampen negative electricity prices and reduce price volatility. The end customers are the winners.
The Ramp-up of Battery Storage Systems requires players in the power system to react more quickly, especially from grid operators. There are more and more sources of flexibility whose operational management could have repercussions on network operation and pricing.
At system level, standard services are provided and price spikes are smoothed out through deployment plans that can be adjusted at short notice. As far as prices reflect the local network situation well, Bottleneck reducing behavior In addition, reduce network loads.
At the same time, however, the complexity of network management is increasing. More storage means more control requirements, more interfaces and a higher need to ensure that price signals and network requirements do not diverge.
Together with Operators, System and Network Management Processes must learn from short-term flexibilities to deal with variable deployment plans. In order to be able to deal with the new developments in the long term, the digitization of networks must be massively accelerated. This must be tackled more decisively in 2026 than before, even though implementation will take many (more) years.
The year 2026 will thus be a laboratory for an energy system that could gain stability through well-coordinated processes of controllable resources. It will show where the use of flexibility can lead to predictable security or new uncertainties.
The future energy system wants to take shape in 2026: technically ready, but still undecided from a regulatory point of view. Battery storage systems provide the potential for what politicians and regulators still owe: speed, flexibility and security of supply. Whether this will result in a stable market or a system under continuous stress will be decided this year.
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