Drop in average disruption time shows German grid stable amid energy transition – regulator

Disruptions to power supply have further decreased in Germany in 2024, showing that the country’s electricity grid “is one of the most reliable ones in Europe,” the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) said. Power supply disruptions in the country averaged 11.7 minutes last year, compared to 12.8 minutes in 2023.

“The energy transition is progressing without compromising on the security of power supply,” BNetzA head Klaus Müller said. There are “no negative tendencies” regarding long-term supply security tied to energy transition measures, the agency found, adding that the figure for 2024 was well below the average 12.7 minutes over the past decade. Compared with other European countries, the German electricity system’s supply security had proven to be among the most reliable one in the region, BNetzA added.

Electricity grid operators must report all disruptions longer than three minutes, which occurred 164,645 times in 2024. While these were about 6,300 more incidents than in the year before, the average disruption time for end customers went down. “Disruptions were resolved faster,” the agency explained. BNetzA only counts disruptions that were not caused by “force majeure” events, such as extreme weather.

An unprecedented disruption to electricity supply across most of the Iberian Peninsula stunned energy industry experts in spring this year. According to European grid authority ENTSO-E, the blackout was the first known incident caused by overvoltage in the network. While German authorities and industry representatives said a similar event is unlikely to occur in the country, researchers said that Germany nevertheless must take measures to better prepare for unexpected shocks to the electricity grid.