Power Engineering - RWE's offer to strengthen German grid cooperation

10 July 2008 - Utility giant RWE has said it is prepared to take on systems management of the ultra-high voltage grid currently owned by the four German transmission systems operators - E.ON Netz GmbH, Vattenfall Europe Transmission GmbH, EnBW Transportnetze AG and RWE Transportnetz Strom GmbH.

This would mean that the company could then manage the uniform German control area envisioned by German policymakers and the German Federal Network Agency.

RWE has also offered to coordinate plans for grid expansion in Germany, although the grids would remain the property of the current or future owners of the transmission networks.

Dr. Juergen Grossmann, CEO of RWE AG, said: "We are addressing the policymakers' call for bundled system responsibility and a uniform German control area. Moreover, we are coordinating the expansion of the grid and thus ensuring the achievement of the Federal Government's energy policy objectives."

"Our model offers not only benefits in terms of outage prevention and connectivity of new renewable and decentralized power plants, but also the possibility of flexible and transparent ownership structures", he added.

This offer is, however, dependent on conditions that make continued operation of the transmission grid feasible from a business standpoint and ones that place such operation on a sound economic basis.

With regard to this, RWE welcomed the measures announced by the Federal Network Agency at the beginning of this week, regarding interest on investments in new networks.

However, RWE still requires clarity on other details that have an impact on the level of total interest. Chief among these is the complete refinancing of energy procurement costs for compensation services, such as lost energy, balancing energy, compensation for the Federal Act on Granting Priority to Renewable Energy Sources.

An acceptable entrepreneurial interest rate on borrowed capital in the incentive-based regulatory system is also essential says the utility.

"We want not merely to strengthen German grid cooperation, but also to take the lead in shaping the future European transmission network," Grossmann continued.

RWE Transportnetz Strom GmbH is currently negotiating with transmission system operators outside of Germany on ways to intensify cooperation. Plans include a joint control centre from which grid load and system security in the partners' transmission networks can be monitored in real time.

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