Bottlenecks expected due to weather: network operator calls on electricity customers to take immediate action
Created: 01/15/2023, 16:25
By: Stella Henrich
The network operator TransnetBW has called on its customers in the south to reduce consumption.
Due to the weather, power shortages are apparently expected.
Stuttgart – Actually there is no reason to worry.
The network operator TransnetBW announces this on its website.
The security of the power supply is guaranteed.
But now the company is calling on customers on its Twitter account for help: "Please help."
Accordingly, customers should reduce their consumption from 5 p.m. today.
The Stuttgart grid operator cites the strong wind as the reason for the measure.
Customers should switch off their household appliances between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. and refrain from doing laundry.
Devices such as laptops should also be operated with rechargeable batteries.
The time up to 5 p.m. should be used to charge the batteries or use electrical household appliances.
TransnetBW called for this on Twitter late on Saturday evening.
This is the current severe weather warning in Germany - warning in eleven circles.
Network operator asks customers for help: The traffic light is red between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. for the citizens of the southwest due to a redispatch
The background is a so-called redispatch, reports
Faz.net
.
This is an intervention in power generation to avoid bottlenecks in the grid (to the explanatory video).
In the north, such high wind levels are expected during the day that the transmission capacity to the south-west is not sufficient, the online portal quotes a spokeswoman for the company as saying.
The whole thing can be compared to a traffic jam on the freeway.
The only thing that usually helps is to slow down or not get in the car at all.
With an "adjusted power consumption", the citizens of the south-west can therefore help to keep the power grid stable even during the red phase.
According to the Federal Network Agency, network operators repeatedly carry out redispatch measures - even more frequently than before.
A major reason for this is the gradual phase-out of nuclear energy.
This often leads to imbalances between the high generation of electricity, for example from wind power in the north, and consumption in the south.
Network operator asks citizens for help: the costs of the energy transition are already being felt by consumers
According to TransnetBW, more than 500 megawatts of power plant capacity should then be obtained from abroad to cover the redispatch requirement in Baden-Württemberg.
This also has financial consequences for consumers.
Because the costs for the redispatch are allocated via the network charges and thus reach the consumer via the electricity bill.
No wonder, then, that photovoltaic systems are becoming more and more popular as electricity storage systems for citizens throughout Bavaria.
