© dpa
More heat pumps, new urban districts, increasing electromobility and large data centers - the electricity grid operator Stromnetz Berlin is expecting a much greater hunger for energy in the capital in the coming years.
The state-owned company is therefore planning to invest 2.9 billion euros over the next five years, said Managing Director Erik Landeck in Berlin. In the past five years, 1.3 billion euros have been invested. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board and State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises, Severin Fischer, described the electricity grid as the key to the energy, heating and mobility transition.
Berliners have a high demand for power, said Landeck. Last year, this amounted to around 2 gigawatts at peak times. The company is forecasting 4.5 gigawatts for 2035. According to experts, however, the nationwide demand for electricity will increase less than originally expected in the coming years. Landeck pointed out that the growth in electromobility, among other things, is making itself felt in Berlin. Requests for heat pumps are also increasing significantly.
However, large data centers also play a significant role. Stromnetz Berlin has promised three centers that are already connected a peak load of 130 megawatts. Five further data centers are under construction and the company has submitted an offer for five more. The additional demand here is just under 700 megawatts. According to the calculations, demand in the general supply would increase by just under 650 megawatts by 2035. The electricity grid operator, which the state of Berlin bought from Swedish electricity group Vattenfall in summer 2021, closed last year with a profit after tax of 150.9 million euros. Investments in the maintenance, expansion and digitalization of the infrastructure amounted to 367 million euros.