German businesses want solutions for rising short power outages – association

Companies in Germany are increasingly experiencing short power outages of up to three minutes, with the number of companies reporting such "flickers", as they are known, rising from 9 to 16 percent between 2022 and 2024, according to a survey by the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK).

Businesses in the industrial sector were hit even harder, with nearly 25 percent of companies in the sector reporting cuts to power supply under three minutes. Eleven percent even experienced longer outages. DIHK did not ask for the exact reasons for the interruptions, reports Tagesspiegel.

While brief power outages might not seem like much, they can result in significant costs for companies of between 10,000 and 50,000 euros, and in some cases, more than 100,000 euros, said DIHK. "They can lead to major restrictions in production processes, especially in industry," deputy DIHK managing director Achim Dercks told Tagesspiegel. 

Overall, Germany's power supply is very stable in an international comparison. In 2023, households and companies were without electricity for an average of 12.8 minutes, which is one of the lowest rates internationally, reports Tagesspiegel. Still, Dercks said the fact that a third of German industry is hit with power outages is "alarming". Companies are also becoming more susceptible to outages because of digitisation and the switch to electricity-based processes to save CO2, writes Tagesspiegel.