Austria's power supply: Blackout risk minimally thanks to hydropower!

Austria's power supply: Blackout risk minimally thanks to hydropower!

Kaprun, Salzburg, Österreich - The critical analysis of security of supply in the Austrian power grid shows that the risk of a blackout is extremely low. The Austria Power Grid (APG) operates the national high -voltage network in Austria. This network comprises almost 7,000 kilometers of electricity lines that support other regional network operators such as Wiener Netze and Netz NÖ to ensure the local distribution of the electricity. The main energy source of the country remains hydropower, while wind power and photovoltaics have been significantly expanded in recent years. Current security of supply is estimated with an impressive 99.99 percent, which underlines the robustness of the system.

In order to further ensure the stability of the power grid, Austria has introduced the N-1 principle. This principle ensures that the power supply is not endangered even in the event of a failure of central equipment. A large -scale power failure could only be brought about by several unforeseen and at the same time occurring events. Such regional interruptions of the power line can be observed, especially in alpine areas during the winter months. In the event of major disorders, the European power grid is stabilized by separating the network connections to support the affected country in the so -called island operation.

black start -up power plants and restoration of the power supply

A decisive factor for restoring the power supply after a large -scale failure are the black -starting power plants. These power plants can ride independently without external power supply. In Austria you have several such power plants, including the Kaprun pumped storage power plant in Salzburg. This infrastructure is particularly important in order to be able to react quickly in the event of a power failure and to restore the power supply quickly.

The challenges of the energy system are also more complex by integrating small and decentralized producers and consumers. The necessary adjustments to the power grids and the network expansion are essential to meet this complexity. In Germany, for example, a lot of electricity from wind energy is produced, which must be transported to other regions through high-voltage equal current transmission (HGÜ). However, the network expansion often remains behind the faster expansion of renewable energies, which is made more difficult by lengthy approval processes and resistance in the population.

efficiency and the role of the intelligent networks

A discussion about a new interpretation of the N-1 criterion aims to increase the network utilization while security of supply is maintained. Currently, 50 to 70 percent of the capacity of the power grid are used, and suggestions for checking a reactive N-1 rule offer the option of realizing savings in the costs for network expansion and network management. Innovative approaches such as the intelligent control of the networks using artificial intelligence and smart networks could be used for efficient capacity test. The use of large battery systems, so -called super batteries, is also an alternative strategy to integrate flexibility in the electricity system.

Finally, it can be said that the German Federal Network Agency emphasizes how important it is to secure the energy supply as part of the energy transition. Resilient regulatory mechanisms, the fulfillment of the transport tasks of the networks and a sufficient generation capacity play an important role. On the pages of the Federal Network Agency, further information and data on security of supply in Germany can be viewed.