Energy supply in Germany: civil protection officers expect blackouts in winter

Created: 11/19/2022 10:41 am

By: Stefanie Fischhaber

Experts expect blackouts to occur in Germany in January and February.

(Icon image) © Andrew Kravchenko/ dpa

Again and again there are warnings of possible blackouts in winter.

According to the Federal Office for Civil Protection, the first power outages could occur in January.

Berlin - In view of the energy crisis in Germany, there are repeated warnings of possible blackouts in Germany.

The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) estimates that the tense situation in the energy supply could lead to power outages in Germany in the coming months that will exceed the previous level.

Power outages in Germany: Federal Office for Civil Protection predicts blackouts in winter

"We have to assume that there will be blackouts in winter," said BBK boss Ralph Tiesler of "Welt am Sonntag".

"By that I mean a regional and temporally limited interruption of the power supply." However, he sees the reason for this not only as the energy shortage, but also targeted shutdowns of the power grid.

In order to protect the grids and not endanger the overall supply, grid operators could temporarily switch off the electricity.

The Federal Network Agency has already drawn up various scenarios for energy supply in winter.

"The risk of this increases from January and February, so we assume that from then on there will be power supply interruptions for a certain period of time," said Tiesler.

However, the Federal Office expects short-term, "so-called brownouts" rather than long-lasting, large-scale blackouts, the expert explained.

Criticism of civil protection in Germany: Households and municipalities have to arm themselves for blackouts

In this context, the BBK President criticized the fact that government agencies were not always adequately prepared for crisis situations such as power failures.

Some of the municipalities and authorities are "really exemplary", with precise plans and ensuring the power supply through emergency generators on site.

“Others are in a much worse position, they are not sufficiently prepared.

It varies a lot, ”explained the head of the authority in relation to possible blackouts in winter.

In the meantime, large parts of the population have also recognized the danger of a blackout.

But that is by no means a reason for alarmism, says Tiesler.

“Everything we are going through at the moment we can still cope with.

We have to adapt.

And most of the time, people have succeeded in doing that.”

What to do in the event of a blackout?

Expert gives tips for long-term power outages

Nevertheless, every household should be prepared for an emergency.

In the event of a power outage, an emergency supply of groceries should be kept in the house, especially non-perishable products such as canned goods.

Tieser also recommends having a battery-operated radio and candles ready.

The most important documents should also be ready to hand in the event of an emergency.

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Experts recommend keeping an emergency supply of cash as well, as cash access options may be limited.

In the event of an emergency, consumers can work through a checklist of what to do in the event of a blackout.

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