Blackout in Germany?

Local power failures are possible – say the network operators

Created: 09/22/2022, 05:00

By: Oliver Schmitz

Energy crisis: Possible “blackouts” are now also being discussed.

According to network operator Amprion, power outages are actually possible in winter.

Cologne – The current energy crisis could have serious consequences for private households, especially in the coming winter.

Gas prices are skyrocketing.

And now the voices warning of possible "blackouts" are getting louder and louder.

While widespread power outages lasting days are rather unlikely, the "controlled switching off of consumers as a 'ultima ratio'" is quite possible.

That's what a spokesman for the transmission system operator Amprion based in Dortmund told 24RHEIN from IPPEN.MEDIA.

Amprion: Targeted "power failure" regionally possible - blackouts rather not

In the worst case, private households must also expect power outages in winter.

However, consumers would only have no electricity for "a short period of time," says the Amprion spokesman.

In addition, the shutdowns would then also be “regionally limited”.

According to Amprion, it is not possible to say exactly where this could happen in advance, as it always depends on the current situation in the power grid.

What does "Amprion" do?

As one of four so-called "transmission system operators", Amprion is largely responsible for the electricity infrastructure in Germany.

The company operates a power grid that is around 11,000 kilometers long and is primarily responsible for maintenance.

Amprion operates primarily in North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.

But also in some regions of Lower Saxony, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.

The three other transmission system operators in Germany are Tennet TSO, 50Hertz Transmission and TransnetBW.

According to Amprion, however, "a series of measures" would precede the targeted power outages anyway.

The company does not expect a real blackout, "ie an uncontrolled collapse of the European electricity system", under the "current framework conditions".

Nevertheless, some cities, such as Cologne, are already preparing for days of power outages.

Blackout danger: power supply in winter "extremely strained"

Regional power outages are possible in winter, but are meant to be used as a last resort.

(Iconic image) © Julian Stratenschulte/dpa

Together with the three other transmission system operators in Germany, Amprion has drawn up special analyzes for the electricity supply situation in the coming winter months.

In all scenarios considered, the situation is “extremely tense”.

In two critical cases, there could always be "not enough power" for a few hours, explains the Amprion spokesman.

As a result, there would be power outages.

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To ensure that these "worst cases" do not occur, the electricity network operators have proposed a package of measures to the federal government.

Among other things, this provides for the availability of nuclear power plants.

The federal government had recently announced that it wanted to keep two nuclear power plants in reserve.