The costs for power grid stabilising measures rose to a record 1.4 billion euros in 2017 (880 million euros in 2016), says the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) in its report on grid and system security measures.
This was due to lagging grid expansion, a Europe-wide cold spell at the beginning of 2017 and a record feed-in of wind power, among other things. “Only the grid expansion can lower the high costs for grid and system security in the long run,” said BNetzA president Jochen Homann in a press release. Costs include re-dispatch measures, the use of power plants in the reserve, and power feed-in management.