Lagging grid expansion “risky in the long run” – grid agency president

Germany does not have a power supply security issue, but its grid stability may be at risk in the long run, Jochen Homann, president of the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) told Deutschlandfunk in an interview. The country currently has sufficient power capacity and consumers do not have to fear power outages, said Homann. However, the grid is oftentimes “not able to transport the power that is sold on the exchange,” forcing grid operators to intervene in the operation of power plants. “Of course, this does not only lead to costs, but is also risky in the long run,” said Homann. Negative power prices, which sometimes result from the lagging grid expansion, “aren’t bad in and of themselves. They point to the fact that there’s not enough flexibility in the power plants on the market,” said Homann.

Read the interview in German here.

For background, read the CLEW factsheets How can Germany keep the lights on in a renewable energy future?, Germany's electricity grid stable amid energy transition,  Set-up and challenges of Germany's power grid, and Why power prices turn negative.