Power supply: 13.7 minutes of power outage per household in 2023

According to an extrapolation, households in Germany were without electricity for an average of 13.7 minutes last year due to damage to power lines during construction work, for example. This is the result of a study by the Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (VDE).

The statistics from the VDE's Network Technology/Network Operation Forum are based on data from network operators, which operate around 75 percent of the German electricity grid. In 2022, the average interruption duration – was 11.8 minutes according to the new metric –. According to a VDE press release, extreme weather conditions were more frequent in 2023 compared to 2022, meaning that weather-related disruptions to the power supply have increased.

One reason for disruptions is the generally high level of construction activity in road and broadband expansion since 2020, which has repeatedly led to damage to power cables, it said. "The number of interruptions per customer in 2023 was 0.34, which means that each customer is only affected by a disruption once every three years on average."

Hurricanes also led to interruptions

However, the figures do not include interruptions due to force majeure and planned shutdowns. In 2023, force majeure led to interruptions lasting an average of 4.3 minutes. "These included, for example, the local effects of hurricanes Ronson, Denis and Zoltan or the Robin snowstorm." Planned shutdowns accounted for a further five minutes or so.

Despite the interruptions, the VDE described the power supply in Germany as "one of the most stable in the world". In a country comparison, Germany is behind South Korea with an average of 9.1 minutes of interruptions (in 2023) and Japan with 10 minutes (in 2021). The Netherlands came in at 21.8 minutes in 2023 and Austria at 23.2 minutes in 2022. There were significantly longer interruptions to the power supply in the USA in 2022 (131.1 minutes) and China in 2019 (822 minutes).

The technology organization pointed out that the conversion of the energy system to renewable energies is increasing grid utilization and making grid operation more demanding. "As a result, grid-related measures are becoming increasingly necessary in order to maintain secure grid and system operation," it said. Even in 2023, the expansion of renewable energies did not have a noticeable impact on the quality of supply. The grid operators, who went to great lengths to maintain grid and system security, contributed to this, writes the VDE.

(anw)