Power blackout: "It's possible that it could be scarce in a few hours"

Created: 07/19/2022, 11:52 am

By: Moritz Serif

In Germany, electricity could become scarce in winter.

(Symbol photo) © Roberto Almeida Aveledo/picture alliance/dpa/ZUMA Wire

In winter, there could be a power crisis in Germany.

But for this to happen, several tightening conditions would have to come together.

Berlin – So far, the energy crisis has been considered a gas crisis.

The electricity supply in Germany is – as of now – secure.

But the Ukraine war could in principle cause a blackout in winter, since there are close ties between the heat and electricity markets.

Robert Habeck's Ministry of Economics recently published an analysis of the power supply in Germany.

A safe operation of the electricity supply network is guaranteed, reports the

.

However, a second stress test is in the works - the federal government is currently struggling with the gas supply through Nord Stream 1

Possible power crisis: "Personally, I'm not preparing for a blackout"

It is to be examined whether the power supply is guaranteed under "further tightened conditions", i.e. even less gas from Russia and nuclear energy from France.

Tobias Federico, managing director at the consulting firm Energy Brainpool, told the

: "Personally, I'm not preparing for a blackout".

He expects that the power grid will withstand the load.

Thorsten Lenck from Agora Energiewende does not entirely share this optimism.

"According to our analyzes so far, it is quite possible that it could become scarce in a few hours in winter," he said.

There are the following risks:

• Possible weather extremes

• France's nuclear power supply (some currently closed or curtailed)

• The supply situation of the gas power plants

• consumer behavior

Nuclear power plants in France may have an impact on electricity

In France, many nuclear power plants are currently idle due to maintenance work or heat.

Lenck warns that if these are not up and running again in time, things could get tight for suppliers in Germany.

The

expects, for example, that many households will heat more with electricity in order to save on expensive gas.

That's why there's a real run on electric heaters right now.

According to hardware and electronics stores, some of the devices were sold out for a short time.

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Electricity prices have risen drastically

Electricity prices have also risen drastically recently and were 30 percent higher in June than in the same month last year.

"By the turn of the year at the latest, we expect to see electricity price increases across the board for millions of households," says Thorsten Storck, energy expert at Verivox.

However, the increase will not be as strong as with gas.

"The price of electricity will certainly also rise, but not quite as sharply," predicts Florian Stark from Check24.

(mse)