Brussels, 18/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - The combination of four electricity transport networks in Germany would, in the eyes of Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, speed up expansion of the national network.
In an interview with the German magazine Stern, Oettinger recommends merging the electricity networks in Germany and giving the State participation in the new entity that would manage the national grid in order to speed up development of electricity lines. The commissioner explained that this would not necessarily be less expensive for consumers but that expansion of the network would be more rapid and more uniform. He underlined the case of Spain where there is only one network operator, Red Electrica, in which the Spanish state holds 20%. He said it was a good example.
Four transmission system operators (TSOs) share the German network: 50 Hertz, held by the Belgian company Elia and the Australian fund IFM; TenneT, hitherto held by E.ON; Amprion hitherto held by RWE; and TransnetBW, held by EnBW Transportnetze.
Germany's decision to give up nuclear energy completely by 2022 means the country's electricity industry is faced with the challenge of finding the necessary energy for meeting the deficit. In particular, it must integrate larger quantities of renewable energy into the networks, an area where progress has so far been slow.
A study published last spring by Germany's four TSOs evaluates at €32 billion the investment needed in electricity networks for integrating renewables. Mostly produced in the North Sea, renewable energy must be carried to consumer centres in the south of the country. According to the network development plan, 3,800 km of new electricity lines, including four electricity highways in a North-South axis, must be built. The current transport network comprises more than 35,000 km of high voltage lines.
A national plan adopted in 2009 already provided for the construction of 2,000 km of high voltage lines, but only 200 km have so far been built, due to administrative obstacles. (EH/transl.jl)