Energy transition: Bottlenecks in the power grid cost almost 3.1 billion euros in 2023

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Transmission network in Saxony: costs for all electricity consumers

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Jürgen Lösel/ picture alliance/ dpa

In Germany, wind turbines had to be curtailed significantly more frequently in 2023 because the capacity of the grids was not sufficient to direct the large amount of electricity from the north of the republic to the high-consumption south. Nevertheless, the costs of the so-called redispatch have fallen: from around 4.2 billion euros in 2022 to almost 3.1 billion euros last year. This emerges from current statistics from the Federal Network Agency. All electricity consumers pay the costs of compensating curtailed power producers and replacing them with other power plants through the network fees.

In total, a good 19 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity were lost in 2023 due to grid bottlenecks. For comparison: This corresponds to around four percent of Germany's total electricity generation. Wind farms at sea and on land were particularly affected. In return, other power plants that would not have actually entered the market during these phases had to generate a good 14 TWh additionally. It is primarily coal and gas power plants in North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg that then step into the breach.

more on the subject

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One background is that wind energy in Germany is being developed “relatively far from the load,” as the Federal Network Agency puts it: far away from large electricity consumers. The bottlenecks are primarily located in the transmission network, i.e. on the large, supra-regional electricity highways. The necessary expansion of the routes has been delayed in many places and could not keep pace with the expansion of renewables.

The fact that redispatch costs fell last year, even though volumes increased, is due to the relaxation on the energy markets. Fuels such as hard coal and natural gas were no longer as expensive as they were in the crisis year of 2022. Wholesale prices for electricity have also fallen: from a good 230 to around 92 euros per megawatt hour.

The most frequently overloaded electricity highway in Germany was recently the line section from Dörpen to Hanekenfähr in Emsland, followed by the connection from Ovenstädt to Bechterdissen in East Westphalia-Lippe.

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