The number one German city can no longer supply electricity to new customers

The city of Oranienburg, north of Berlin, is running out of electricity. The city has grown very quickly in recent years. There is no connection between heat pumps, wall boxes and the like.

Oranienburg/Berlin – The city of Oranienburg in Brandenburg is now showing how the energy transition can go wrong if not planned properly. “In order to maintain the stability of the electricity network in Oranienburg, municipal utilities are no longer able to approve new registrations or increases in the performance of household connections. This applies, for example, to the connection of heat pumps and charging infrastructure,” says a message to citizens on the city’s website. These days, in plain language: the local power grid has reached its capacity limits.

Electricity bottleneck in Oranienburg: The city grew faster than expected

According to the city, the electricity shortage is caused by rapid population growth due to immigration and increased connectivity of systems such as heat pumps and wall boxes for electric vehicles. According to its own information, the public utility company in Oranienburg requested more capacity from the substation network operator more than a year ago, but operator E.dis did not respond. The situation must now be reported to the Federal Network Agency.

Meanwhile, construction of a new high-voltage network is also underway, but it will not be completed until 2026. If the city does not find a solution to the bottlenecks by then, citizens will have to put new construction on hold, and wall boxes and heat pumps cannot be operated – as will Creating new companies and industries is impossible. Not only would this be annoying, but it would also slow down the energy conversion unnecessarily.

“The electricity needs of our growing city have evolved dramatically, faster than expected in the past. This demonstrates the challenge of expanding infrastructure at the same speed. “We are working hard not to completely slow down urban development, but rather doing our best to provide sufficient performance for our industrial enterprises.” Large companies, as well as for private housebuilders,” confirms city mayor Aleksandar Laisicki.

Germany's energy supply is very safe

It cannot be said in general terms whether other municipalities are threatened with the same fate as Oranienburg. The causes of the problems seem to be omissions that the Federal Network Agency now wants to clarify. “Network operators should proactively upgrade their network in order to primarily prevent issues related to capacity shortages,” the authority wrote world. However, the Association of Municipal Enterprises (VkU) is optimistic that Oranienburg will not be a harbinger: “The legislature has just tightened the planning tools for distribution network operators, which should make it easier to avoid predicting errors in the future,” the newspaper reported. His spokesman was quoted as saying.

But people in the country need not worry at the moment. In a 2022 study, the VDE found that Germany's electricity supply is among the most reliable in the world. According to the study, Germany ranked second in the world rankings, behind South Korea. The study looked at the frequency and duration of power outages annually: an average of 12 minutes in 2021. However, the association wrote in the April 2022 press release that “efforts to maintain grid and system security” are due to an increase in renewable energies on the grid that are increasing. Increase. However, this has no impact on the quality of care.

Dynamic electricity tariffs and grid charges can stabilize the electricity grid

Electricity customers can also make their own contribution to the stability of the electricity grid. Nowadays, anyone who installs a photovoltaic system usually also installs a storage system. According to experts, this is very important: according to various reports, anyone who installs a solar system with storage can achieve 60 to 80 percent self-sufficiency. Therefore: independent of network fluctuations. Of course, this also has a dampening effect on the entire electricity grid if many electricity consumers mainly supply themselves. Electric cars can also (at least in theory) serve as large battery storage units that the home can tap into.

According to a study by Agora Energiewende, up to ten percent of Germany's total electricity consumption could be affected by such “home-related flexibilities.” However, this will only be possible if dynamic electricity tariffs and grid charges are also used. This allows consumers to match their electricity consumption with grid usage – which is done through financial incentives (electricity is expensive when the grid is heavily loaded). “Dynamic network charges avoid peak load in the network; The study says: “Expanding the required network will be possible at the current pace.” One of the main obstacles standing in the way of this lever is the expansion of smart meters, without which dynamic electricity tariffs would not be possible.

The first step in Oranienburg is to find a short-term solution. “The municipal utility, together with the high-voltage grid operator E.DIS Netz, is working hard on a temporary solution to remove the bottleneck so that the new municipal utility substation in Oranienburg can be put into operation. The new building will ensure Security of supply in Oranienburg.