Oranienburg, on the outskirts of Berlin, has moved to the center of the debate about the energy transition. A message from April 11th on the city's website informed citizens that new network connections were no longer possible.
The Federal Network Agency wants to investigate the incident. The question is raised as to whether the same could happen to other municipalities and cities? Is there a risk of running out of electricity in Germany? The present case is also "unacceptable," says the Federal Ministry of Economics, led by Robert Habeck (Greens). "There is enough electricity available – but network operators and municipal utilities must ensure that the electricity arrives where it is needed," Spiegel quotes a spokesman for the agency as saying. "The electricity needs of our growing city have developed enormously, faster than was predicted in the past.' The energy transition in Germany will only succeed if everyone pulls together. If politicians rely on heat pumps and electric cars, then municipalities must draw the right conclusions and upgrade their network in a timely manner. Electric cars can also serve as large battery storage units that the house can tap into. People don't have to worry about the power supply. In a study from 2022, the VDE found that the electricity supply in Germany is among the most reliable in the world. The study examined how often and how long there was a blackout per year, an average of 12 minutes in 2021. However, the association writes in the press release from April 2022 that the “effort to maintain network and system security” is due to the increase in renewable energies on the grid is increasing. But this has no influence on the quality of care, according to the association. It writes that the increase in renewable energies is increasing, but this does not influence the quality of care. The VDE writes that this is because the number of people using renewable energy is rising.