Federal Network Agency sets up electricity security platform for crisis preparedness

"The electricity security platform is a central instrument for being able to act quickly, in a coordinated manner, and in a legally secure way in an emergency," the authority stated during its presentation in Bonn. It is the result of a multi-year preparatory process carried out together with the four transmission system operators and the energy industry.

Prerequisite: Shortage determination by the federal government

According to the information available, a prerequisite for issuing an order via the platform is a formal determination by the federal government that an energy shortage within the meaning of the Energy Security Act exists. Only then can the Federal Network Agency trigger binding reductions in electricity supply. Without this political determination, the platform remains a preparatory tool without operational powers of intervention.

Among the most important data sources for the platform are real-time reports from transmission system operators such as Amprion, as well as consumption data from major industrial sites. The Association of Municipal Companies and the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) are also integrated in order to connect municipal utilities and city works to the system. The goal is to display load flows in real time and, if necessary, to intervene in a regionally targeted manner.

Data basis and integration of the business community

In a next step, medium-sized companies and energy-intensive industries are also to gain access to selected functions. The Federal Network Agency emphasizes that the platform is not intended for the permanent control of the electricity market, but exclusively as a crisis instrument. In normal operation, electricity trading via the regular marketplaces remains unaffected.

Experience from the energy crisis following Russia's attack on Ukraine showed that the previous coordination channels had been too slow and too fragmented, according to the authority. At the time, the supply situation had been stabilized primarily through bilateral arrangements and appeals to industry. The new platform is intended to institutionalize these processes and place them on a clear legal basis.

Data protection and cybersecurity play a central role in its operation. The authority points out that the platform is operated in a particularly secure environment and that sensitive consumption data can only be accessed in a narrowly limited crisis mode. In regular operation, according to the Federal Network Agency, exclusively aggregated, anonymized load data is processed.

Data protection and European interfaces

The European dimension is also taken into account: Since the German electricity market is closely intertwined with neighboring countries, interfaces to the corresponding platforms in the European Union are planned. This is intended to enable coordinated cross-border load shedding in an emergency without undermining national measures.

Representatives of the energy industry largely assess the step positively. The BDEW sees the platform as an important contribution to supply security, but calls for clear rules on the triggering time and compensation for affected companies. The Association of Municipal Companies points out that city works and regional suppliers must also be involved in the procedures in good time.

The Federal Network Agency announced that the platform would be gradually transitioned to live operation in the coming months and that regular exercises would be carried out with the grid operators. Scenarios such as the simultaneous failure of several major power plants or a cold winter with significant gas shortages are also to be simulated.

Reactions from the energy industry

In the long term, according to observers, the system could also serve as a basis for more far-reaching instruments, for example for load management in connection with the increasing feed-in of renewable energies or for the control of controllable consumers such as heat pumps and electric cars. The authority explicitly considers this a task for the future, not its current purpose.

One thing is clear: As long as the federal government does not determine a shortage, nothing changes for consumers. In the words of the Federal Network Agency, the platform is above all a preparedness and response instrument for emergencies – comparable to a firefighting system that is only deployed when a fire actually breaks out.