Is there enough electricity and gas for the winter or not? Do we have to prepare for freezing and power blackouts with canned food from the basement or are we spared? A clear answer would be nice, but Egon Westphal, CEO of Bayernwerk AG, doesn’t have one ready either. At the invitation of the Gräfelfingen Frauen-Union of the CSU, the Bayernwerk boss, who lives in the community himself, spoke on Monday in the community center about the security of the energy supply. After all, instead of drawing a threat scenario, he outlined the current crisis as an opportunity.
If just as many people in their households are saving energy in a targeted manner, as appeared in the community center on Monday, then the zeal to save is not far off – the seats were sparsely occupied. This impression coincides with the statements made by the energy suppliers: While companies have significantly reduced their energy consumption, the willingness to save is currently hardly visible in private households. Westphal was surprised that many were so relaxed. “The crisis will intensify considerably,” said the managing director of the company, which operates as an energy supplier and operator of electricity grids in the market.
At the moment, however, the mild October is encouraging, the gas storage facilities are 96 percent full – a little less in Bavaria, as there is an important storage facility in Austria. Westphal did not want to address the issue of how likely a power blackout is, just this much: Before it gets that far, there are other measures that need to be exhausted. Westphal estimates that energy prices will stabilize in 2024, but at higher levels than before the crisis, especially as far as LPG is concerned.
The energy crisis hit Germany with full force. The conversion of the energy supply to CO₂-neutral energy production had just begun when the cheap Russian gas, which was supposed to serve as a bridging technology, collapsed. How react? Keep optimism in the crisis and look ahead – that’s what Westphal advocated. In front – for the engineer, a decentralized energy supply from renewable sources seems to be on the horizon. He leaves no doubt about that, not even when questions from the audience criticized the renunciation of fossil energy sources as a “green religion” that does not appear to be feasible. Westphal left no doubt: “We have a gigantic climate problem, we have to give answers.”
There will be an “innovation race” for renewable energies, said the Bayernwerk boss. When it comes to power supply, he is “cautiously optimistic”. Bavaria is well positioned. “The Bavarian region is the birthplace of renewable energy,” said Westphal. In the past ten years or so, the expansion of photovoltaics has experienced an enormous boost, with systems installed on every barn roof. This positive balance is going down because the currently enormous demand for systems cannot be met immediately. High-voltage networks would have to be massively expanded, it was a historic task for network operators like Bayernwerk.
He emphatically called for a reduction in bureaucracy in order to speed up the system conversion. In some cases, approval processes would take longer than construction times. In addition, he urged faster decisions and implementation – the life extension of nuclear power plants had fatally been debated for far too long since the spring. Westphal is certain of one thing: If you look back into the distant future, you will find that history was made – in a positive sense.