The Austria Power Grid (APG), which is responsible for the domestic electricity grid, is sounding the alarm: as a result, it does not have the necessary capacities and is no longer able to cope with the constantly increasing loads caused by the integration of renewable energy sources and the ever increasing electrification!
That is why, according to APG, regular intervention is necessary to prevent overloading of the electricity grid. “If there is a risk of line overload in the electricity grid, we must counteract these loads in a controlled manner through targeted interventions in the use of thermal and hydraulic power stations and flexible consumers,” explains Gerhard Christiner, technical director at APG.
By the end of September, such interventions – so-called redispatch measures – were already necessary in 181 days. That is no less than 16 days or about ten percent more than in the same period last year.
Call for expedited procedures
These capacity shortages in the electricity infrastructure cause costs that ultimately have to be borne by the electricity customers. “The currently missing grid capacity will cost Austrian electricity customers as a whole around 99 million euros in 2021,” explains Thomas Karall, CFO of APG.
In September 2022 alone, the necessary redispatch measures generated “costs of around €7 million and a total of €77 million in the first nine months of this year,” Karall said.
APG therefore advocates accelerated and simplified approval procedures. APG wants to invest around 3.5 billion euros in the transformation of the energy system over the next ten years. About 370 million will be invested in the electricity grid this year.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
