Germany adds 1,300 km to power grid
Clean Energy Wire
Germany made important progress in expanding the power grid in 2019, the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) says in its annual report. Of 7,700 kilometres of planned grid expansion, 1,300 km have been realised and 830 km approved. Costs for all grid and supply security measures exceeded 1.4 billion euros in 2018, making rapid grid expansion a continued high priority, said the BNetzA. An additional 3,600 km are planned in the 2019-2030 network development plan, though mostly by strengthening already existing connections.
In response to severe strains on the German power grid in June 2019, the network agency had also found that several companies were in breach of their contractual obligations as balancing group managers during supervisory proceedings. Five companies were mentioned by the BNetzA last week. The agency also said it was conducting preliminary investigations into possible market manipulation. It aims to find out whether some market participants have deliberately sold electricity at very high prices on the intraday market without the intention of actually procuring or generating this electricity – a situation that could lead to imbalances on the grid. Having received information from the individual market participants, the agency is evaluating and will decide whether to impose sanctions.
