While Germany has to import huge amounts of expensive electricity to be able to meet demand, huge amounts of electricity are also wasted due to power plant shutdowns due to grid constraints. As a result, 8,000 GWh of electricity was lost in 2022 alone. However, consumers are allowed to pay it through their electricity bill.
Due to a completely unsuccessful energy transition, Germany was condemned to dependence on electricity produced abroad. Hundreds of millions of euros are lost every month because any surplus from solar and wind power plants is exported cheaply, but expensive nuclear, coal and gas power has to be bought on the European energy market during peak times. There was an import surplus of 6,505 gigawatt hours (GWh) in August, giving way to an export balance of minus 557 million euros.
However, at least some part of this imported electricity could have come from domestic generation – if the networks were properly developed. Although a new network congestion management “Redispatch 2.0” has been introduced, which aims to better regulate the distribution of electricity, power plants still have to be regulated. According to one report, the total in 2022 alone was about 8,000 GWh. This roughly corresponds to a negative import balance from July and August 2023 or the average annual electricity consumption of 2.3 million private households.
Of course, efficiency looks completely different. However, above all, it is costly for consumers because operators of power plants (at least wind and solar power plants) affected by outages receive compensation payments for it. This involves an amount of more than one billion euros. These costs are then added to consumers’ electricity bills. You are paying for the “green electricity” produced because the federal government has guaranteed the purchase of such electricity in the general climate madness.
(TagstoTranslate)Cuts(T)Energy transition(T)Power plants(T)Green electricity(T)Electricity imports
