On average over the last three years, around 60% of the electricity consumption in February was covered by renewable production. Due to the high production from hydropower, which was unusual for the season, combined with the high volume of wind power, around 88% of Austria's electricity consumption could be covered by renewable energies in February 2024 (calendar weeks 5 – 9). This is 30 percent more than in the previous year and around 35 percent more than the average of the last three years. In February, renewables were able to produce a total of 5,278 GWh (gigawatt hours) of electricity.
Due to the warm temperatures, production from hydropower increased by 35% compared to the previous year. Overall, hydropower contributed the biggest share of the renewable production in February at around 69%, while wind power provided around 23%, which is an increase of 16% compared to the previous year.
Trend continues: as in January, Austria is an export country again in February for the first time in over 20 years
The exceptionally good electricity generation from renewables ensured that Austria was able to export electricity abroad on 15 days in February even though this is usually a month, where Austria is heavily dependent on imports (in 2023 Austria was only able to export electricity on one day in February). However, in 2024 hydropower ensured that enough electricity was produced in February to make Austria an export country.
“As in January, more electricity was exported than imported in February for the first time in over 20 years. The February export balance was 23 GWh. Prior to that, 2003 was the last February in which Austria recorded more exports than imports. These developments show the extraordinary volatility of the electricity system due to the ever-increasing share of renewable energies in the electricity production. A high-capacity electricity infrastructure, appropriate storage facilities and digital intelligence within the electricity system are necessary prerequisites to fully utilize the renewables at their planned rate of expansion in the coming years. APG's EUR 9 billion investment scheme until 2034 is therefore crucial for achieving the energy transition without jeopardizing the security of supply,” emphasizes Gerhard Christiner, CTO at APG.
Need for redispatch measures highlights existing deficits
A strong grid is necessary to make the volatile, renewable electricity available and to transport the electricity to where it is needed. To avoid grid overloads and ensure a secure supply, the electricity flow is managed with so-called redispatch measures, i.e. the targeted and controlled use of thermal and hydraulic power plants.
“In 2024 such interventions were already necessary on 25 days until the end of February. This causes costs which have to be borne by the electricity customers. Until the end of February the costs generated by redispatch measures amounted to around 8.2 million euros. A strong transmission grid with sufficient capacities would considerably reduce the need for redispatch and the associated costs. Therefore the immediate expansion of the grid infrastructure is our top priority,” emphasizes Thomas Karall, CFO at APG.
Energy exchange within Austria
The trans-regional electricity grid of APG facilitates the exchange of energy within the country. Electricity surpluses in individual provinces can thus be distributed throughout Austria to compensate deficits.
In February, the ‘wind-strongholds’ Lower Austria (436 GWh) and Burgenland (246 GWh) were able to generate the highest energy surplus and make it available throughout Austria via the APG grid. In Styria the situation was the opposite: with 167 GWh the traditional industrial province had to draw the most electricity from the APG grid, alongside Salzburg (153 GWh).
Responsible energy consumption
In February (Calendar weeks 5 – 9), 5,992 GWh electricity were consumed form the public grid in Austria – this is around 6 percent less than in February 2023 (6,389 GWh).
It is important to act responsibly when it comes to electricity consumption. Saving electricity reduces CO2 and overall systemic costs which is a significant contribution to increasing system security. The trend of reducing CO2 has to be pushed further. This also includes electricity from private PV units to cover the consumption of households.
In 2023 alone around 2,400 MW new capacity from PV systems were connected to the system in Austria. This is a very positive trend which, however, also generates new operational challenges: the increased production from private PV systems causes massive back-feeding of regional electricity surpluses from the distribution grids into APG’s transmission grid. At the same time the coverage of the electricity demand by these private systems results in a loss of data transparency regarding local consumption due to the insufficient degree of digitalization. The usual consumption peak at noon does no longer occur on sunny days: on the contrary, the flow of electricity is completely reversed and the regional electricity surpluses have to be transported elsewhere via the transmission grid. This also significantly changes the electricity price curve and even leads to negative market prices around lunchtime on weekends with low demand.
Due to the lack of data transparency regarding local consumption, the current electricity consumption data for Austria do not really depict the actual situation. Austria's actual electricity consumption can only be determined once all parts of the electricity system have been digitalized transparently. This means that in February 2024 certainly more electricity was consumed than in February 2023. However, the exact figures based on local and regional data are not available yet.
Tips for saving electricity can be found at www.apg.at/stromspartipps. With the APG Powermonitor, it is possible for the Austrian population to see the most effective electricity saving hours and thus make an active contribution to CO2 reduction and system security. The APG Powermonitor can be found at: www.apg.at/powermonitor.
APG continually keeps track of the development of the domestic electricity industry and regularly publishes diagrams at https://www.apg.at/infografiken regarding the topics: energy exchange, energy consumption in Austria, renewables production, import/export, electricity prices, etc.
Click here for the current infographics
About Austrian Power Grid (APG)
As independent transmission system operator Austrian Power Grid (APG) is in charge of ensuring the security of electricity supply in Austria. With our high-performance and digital electricity infrastructure and the use of state-of-the-art technologies we integrate renewable energies, we are the platform for the electricity market, and we provide access to reasonably priced electricity for Austria’s consumers and thus create the basis for Austria as supply-secure and future-oriented industrial and business location and place to live. The APG grid totals a length of about 3,400 km and is operated, maintained and continuously adapted to the increasing challenges of the electrification of businesses, industry and society by a team of approximately 850 specialists. 67 substations are distributed all over Austria and the majority is operated remotely from APG’s control center in Vienna’s 10th district. Thanks to our committed employees Austria had a security of supply of 99.99 percent also in 2023 and thus ranks among the top countries worldwide. Our investments of 445 million euros in 2024 (2023: 490 million euros, 2022: 370 million euros) are a motor for the Austrian economy and a crucial factor in reaching Austria’s climate and energy targets. Until 2034 APG will invest a total of approximately 9 billion euros in grid expansion and renovation projects.
Press contact
Christoph Schuh
