Power stress test passed
Austria sees no blackout risk
11/07/2022 1:49 p.m
Austria presents the results of an electricity stress test, and they look good: the neighboring country only gets into trouble when many factors interact. A blackout is therefore almost impossible.
According to a stress test by the domestic grid operator APG, there will most likely not be a shortage of electricity in Austria next winter. The energy industry situation is tense, but still manageable, said Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler at the presentation of the stress test together with APG CTO Gerhard Christiner.
In the most realistic scenario, there is not a single hour of so-called load undersupply, i.e. a situation where there is not enough supply to meet the demand for electricity, according to the Green politician. Only in the “very critical scenario” could there be too little electricity, which means that consumption would have to be reduced. An increased risk of a blackout is not shown in any of the calculated scenarios. “The electricity stress test shows us two things: Austria has a good and secure energy supply, and we are facing a challenging winter, which we can still cope with in a realistic scenario,” said Gewessler.
However, if fewer nuclear power plants are still in operation in France, coal-fired power plants fail in Germany, the gas supply is interrupted and demand increases because it has been very cold for a long time, there could be a load shortfall of up to 815 hours. “That doesn’t mean that there will be a power failure, but that you have to reduce consumption in a targeted manner,” says Gewessler. However, this scenario is very unlikely. What is not yet taken into account here is that three German nuclear power plants will continue to operate.
Gas storage in Austria full
As an importing country, Austria is dependent on the European framework conditions, since electricity has to be imported from neighboring countries, especially in winter, said APG CTO Christiner. According to the E-Control supervisory authority, the country has to import 16 percent of its electricity needs, 62 percent comes from renewable energies and 22 percent from domestic gas-fired power plants.
The situation in Europe is tense overall due to the failure of many French nuclear power plants, the drought in the summer and low water levels in many of Europe’s rivers, as well as reduced gas supplies from Russia. Europe’s largest nuclear power producer, France, currently has just under 30 GW of its 61 gigawatts of production capacity available, according to the APG Management Board. It can be assumed that there will be around 40 GW of available nuclear power in France this winter at the peak in January.
In Germany there is a risk that not enough hard coal can be transported to the power plants when the water levels in the rivers are low. “Gas will play a crucial role in security of supply this winter,” said Christiner. About a third of the storage capacities in the gas sector must be used for the power supply. On the positive side, the country’s natural gas storage facilities are full and a reserve has been set aside. “That gives us a corresponding level of security in the electricity sector,” said the manager.