Fewer electricity curtailments in eastern Germany

Saxony-Anhalt is one of the largest producers of wind power: to avoid overloading the grids, turbines sometimes have to be switched off. (Archive image) / Photo: Jan Woitas/dpa

Costs are passed on to customers via grid fees

Regulations continue to be a nuisance because they give a completely false impression of the energy transition, said Willingmann. "We have lost too much time, especially in the Merkel era, due to hesitation in the Federal Ministry of Energy." The pace now set by Federal Economics Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) for the expansion of the electricity grids must be maintained in the coming years.

For electricity customers, the occasional curtailment of power generation is important because compensation is paid to producers who have to temporarily shut down their plants. The costs of this are passed on to electricity customers via the grid fees. If the so-called redispatch costs increase, the price of electricity also rises, the Ministry of Energy announced.

Some significant decreases in Saxony and Thuringia too

While 474 gigawatt hours of electricity could not be fed into the grids in Saxony-Anhalt, the figure in Saxony was 682 gigawatt hours, according to data from the Federal Network Agency. In Thuringia, the figure was 28 gigawatt hours. However, at more than 17% and almost 60% respectively, the total amount of electricity not fed into the grid also fell in Saxony and Thuringia, in some cases significantly, compared to 2023.

In a comparison of the federal states, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt are around mid-table. By contrast, Thuringia, with 28 gigawatt hours, is one of the federal states in which particularly little electricity has to be switched off. Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein were the most affected, each with more than 2,700 gigawatt hours of electricity switched off last year - although the figures there also fell compared to 2023.

Increase mainly due to photovoltaics

In contrast, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate recorded sharp increases. The Federal Network Agency recently pointed out that curtailments had decreased, particularly in the area of wind energy, both onshore and offshore, but that there had been a significant increase in photovoltaic systems: by 94 percent from 2024 to 2025.

The main reason for the development of this so-called redispatch in photovoltaic systems was the significant increase in generation capacity, combined with above-average solar radiation in spring and summer.

"Curtailments are not a phenomenon of the energy transition"

In total, around 96% of electricity from renewable energies was used last year, according to the Federal Network Agency. In Saxony-Anhalt, the figure was around 98 percent, according to the energy ministry there. "Curtailments are not a phenomenon of the energy transition: They have existed before," the ministry stated.

According to the plans of Federal Economics Minister Reiche, operators of new wind and solar power plants in areas with heavily overloaded grids will no longer receive financial compensation for ten years in the event of curtailment. However, both the "grid package" planned by Reiche, the amendment to the energy industry law, and the amendment to the Renewable Energy Sources Act have not yet been decided.

Energy suppliers criticize federal plans

In Saxony, the debate about new rules for grid operation and the distribution of costs in the energy industry is controversial. The background to this is the question of how grid congestion can be reduced more quickly and the costs of congestion management limited. Suppliers in particular believe that the economic viability of new expansion projects could be jeopardized by the potential loss of compensation payments.

Fewer electricity curtailments in eastern Germany

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Costs are passed on to customers via grid fees

Some significant decreases in Saxony and Thuringia too

Increase mainly due to photovoltaics

"Curtailments are not a phenomenon of the energy transition"

Energy suppliers criticize federal plans

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