Essen, Apr. 29, (dpa/GNA) – German transmission system operator Amprion helped France with energy supplies while a French energy provider supported Spain and Portugal amid a massive power outage that plunged the Iberian peninsula into darkness.
French grid operator RTE provided power at short notice to restore the grid on Monday, the German company reported. “For its part, Amprion supported the situation with a cross-border energy supply to France,” a spokesman said.
Europe’s interconnected power system means neighbouring states can help each other out, with transmission system operators able to provide each other with emergency support, namely unscheduled energy supplies.
“This would also have a stabilizing effect in the event of an incident in our system,” the Dortmund-based spokesman said.
Throughout the bloc, all grid operators have emergency instruments in place to be able to respond to major disruptions. “The size of the European interconnected grid also has a stabilizing effect here,” he said.
However, there are differences within the region. This does not apply to the more peripheral Iberian Peninsula to the same extent as it does for Germany, which is surrounded by several neighbouring European countries, he noted.
Following the dramatic outage which left millions of people in the dark, communication networks disrupted, traffic lights not working and lifts stranded, European transmission system operators plan to analyse the event. They hope in to take measures to prevent such incidents in future, the spokesman said.
Amprion will contribute its expertise from its role as frequency guardian.
Germany has a total of four transmission system operators, Tennet, 50Hertz and TransnetBW as well as Amprion. The four companies are exclusively responsible for the extra-high voltage grid in four regions, meaning the overhead lines with voltages of 220,000 volts and more. The transmission grid in Germany currently has a total length of around 37,000 kilometres.
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