Beginning in December, a cooperation for network regulation could save tens of millions of euros, head of Vattenfall subsidiary Vattenfall Europe Transmission, Stefan Dohler, said on Monday in Berlin.

Network operators charge electricity providers premiums to use their networks, a practice which experts say is one of the main reasons for high energy prices. But the companies plan to consolidate their efforts, which will eventually lead to savings for customers, he said. A massive reduction in costs, however, would be “too optimistic,” Dohler said.

EON, Vattenfall and EnBW are planning the cooperation for information and control systems, but RWE, one of the country’s other large energy companies, has opted not to participate, which means some western German customers won’t benefit from the linkup.

Until now, each of the four providers operated strictly separated network zones, but now three of them will be interconnected so that available electricity and demand will balance out, Dohler said.