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24 August 2005 - Mainland Europe used 1.7 per cent more power last year, less than in 2003 on mild weather conditions, the Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity (UCTE)said in its 2004 system adequacy report.
Generation capacity increased by 4 per cent, mainly on a rise in combined cycle plants and renewable sources of up to 20 per cent. Although the report showed sufficient generation capacities, two incidents led to blackouts in Greece and in Luxembourg, while congestion in the eastern part of the UCTE was more severe than in 2003. Strong increases of wind generation in Germany also led to high unscheduled flows on interconnections.
The report showed sufficient generation reserves for the sum of the UCTE countries' remaining capacities and that some 5 per cent are needed for secure operation.
The report reviews the adequacy of the electric systems in the 22-country region of mainland Europe extending from Portugal to Poland and from Germany to Greece.
The "most significant event" was the successful reconnection of synchronous zones 1 and 2 of UCTE on Oct 10, 2004, which means UCTE is now a single synchronous zone. Non-hydro renewable generation rose again by more than 30 per cent, mainly due to wind power generation development, particularly in Spain and Germany, impacting transmission system operation and bringing grids close to their limits, UCTE said.
Cross-border trading was at a high level. On average, 11.5 per cent of the UCTE countries' national consumption originates from imports from other UCTE countries. Interconnection capacities were also reinforced between Spain and Portugal, Hungary and Croatia and between Germany and Nordel through the Baltic cable.
Very bad weather conditions affected the eastern part of UCTE in November, especially Poland and the Czech Republic, which lost their interconnection.
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