in RE sources such as wind and solar. Changes in the market design are therefore under consideration, with political proposals including payments for generation capacity provided by utilities rather than only actual electricity sold at auction. 28 Because such capacity payments could – depending on the design- incentivize the continued existence of high-carbon electricity generation technologies, however, they have many critics. It is as yet unclear what shape a potential reform of the German electricity market will take. This is, however, a challenge which arises due to the now already relatively high and rising RE quota and the specific market design of the German electricity sector. Ultimately, as the scale and feasibility of RE grow and electricity generated through RE technologies becomes more competitive, support mechanisms such as the FiT will arguably become less and less relevant as an instrument to level the playing field vis­à-vis traditionally less expensive conventional electricity sources. The FiT is actually designed to make itself dispensable over time. To prepare REs for their participation in the market, in a first step, market premiums may be combined with FiT rates or replace them, and over time all incentives for RE may be phased out without slowing the further expansion of RE. Outlook Already during the federal election campaign of 2013, there was consensus across party lines about the need to revise the EEG in order to address the price increase for German households and some companies due to the RE expansion under the FiT scheme, despite disputes over the exact features of such a reform. Thus, a fourth phase of the EEG can therefore be expected in the near future: While there is no agreement yet over the exact features of the revised EEG, the new government of the conservative Christian Democrats under the leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Social Democrats agreed on a timeline: A first draft of a revised EEG is to be presented by Easter 2014, and the revised law is to enter into force beginning 2015. Both parties already confirmed their intention to continue with the expansion of RE in the German energy market. Some observers expect that the group of companies benefitting from exemption rules regarding the FiT surcharge will be dramatically reduced(after having been expanded in recent years, resulting in massive controversies and public criticism). Furthermore, 28 Agora Energiewende(2013a); Agora Energiewende(2013b); see also SRU(2013). 14