Germany’s grid agency receives extra powers to improve security of energy infrastructure

The German government has agreed to hand extra power to the country’s grid agency to improve the protection of critical energy infrastructure. The Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) is put in charge of supervising the infrastructure for electricity and gas in a new law agreed in cabinet, reported newsletter Tagesspiegel Background.

The so-called "KRITIS umbrella law" requires infrastructure operators across economic sectors to strengthen resilience, for example by considering all potential risks, from natural disasters and human error to acts of sabotage. What counts as critical infrastructure includes businesses and services without which society could experience threats to public safety. Energy is one of eleven sectors recognised as such, and includes electricity generation, gas distribution and energy storage.

The law includes high penalties for companies that violate their reporting obligations and gives the grid agency the power to draw up a safety catalogue with specific requirements and check compliance at critical facilities. Operators are required to allow access and hand over relevant documents, among many other provisions. Operators must implement “measures to ensure their capabilities” by May 2027.

Germany, and Europe as a whole, are preparing for the likelihood of attacks on critical infrastructure with renewed attention following the sabotage of Russian-German gas pipelines Nord Stream I and II in 2022.