Grid expansion: Federal Network Agency criticizes the city of Oranienburg because of electricity bottlenecks

Because Oranienburg cannot cover its electricity needs, the Federal Network Agency turned on. She wants to clarify the supply problems. When asked, the authority said the situation in the Brandenburg city was unacceptable. In her opinion, there are no comparable cases in Germany: “According to the Federal Network Agency’s preliminary assessment, these are misjudgments in the planning.” The Federal Network Agency wants further information from the municipal utilities to clarify the matter.

According to the city of 48,000 inhabitants, the demand for electricity in Oranienburg is increasing due to company settlements, influxes and increased installation of heat pumps. Due to capacity bottlenecks in the municipal utility’s high-voltage network, no new connections would be approved. Additional heat pumps and e-charging stations are no longer possible, and new commercial and industrial areas cannot currently be supplied with electricity.

The city announced that it had set up a working group and was now examining interim solutions. A new substation is already being planned and is scheduled to begin operations in 2026. According to the city, in order to bridge the bottleneck until a new substation is completed, it is possible to use a temporary replacement substation or use gas turbines to supply electricity in the municipal utility network.

This article will continue to be updated.