© dpa
Berliners consumed slightly less electricity last year.
The citywide electricity consumption fell by around 170 megawatts to just over 12,100 gigawatts compared to 2021, the state-owned power grid operator Stromnetz Berlin stated on Tuesday. "Savings effects of all customer groups can certainly be read here, especially in the months of September to December 2022," it said. One gigawatt corresponds to 1000 megawatts.
The company will be faced with billions of euros in investment over the next few years. The capital's entire power grid will have to be geared to more electromobility and electric heat generation. Infrastructure capacity will therefore also have to increase sharply. "According to the latest load forecasts and planning, we are even assuming a necessary doubling of our network capacity within the next ten years," Stromnetz Berlin Managing Director Erik Landeck announced on Tuesday.
In the current year alone, investments of around 285 million euros are planned in the company's own network. According to the company, a large part of this - around 112 million euros - will be spent on expanding and upgrading the electricity network. This includes the construction of new substations or the development of stronger connections. Stromnetz Berlin plans to spend almost the same amount on maintaining and renewing the existing power grid.