“Tennet CEO says no blackout-danger due to e-mobility”

German transmission grid operators say fears about an overstraining of the grid due to an increased use of e-cars and heat pumps are unfounded, Dow Jones Newswires Germany reports. Utility associations in southern Germany recently warned that the nuclear phase-out in 2022 and the presumed rise in electric mobility might lead to power blackouts. But Lex Hartmann, CEO of grid operator Tennet, says this is an unlikely scenario: “We talk about years before there are millions of e-cars on Germany’s roads. Until then, the most important grid expansion projects will be finished.” Transmission grid operator TransnetBW says the companies already took a substantial rise in power demand by e-cars into account when planning their current grid expansion, but added that smaller distribution grids might in fact encounter challenges once e-cars become commonplace.

See the CLEW dossier The energy transition and Germany’s power grid for background.