Normally, electricity production from renewables, especially hydropower, falls sharply in the winter months. Due to high levels of precipitation and the exceptionally warm temperatures in February and March, the first three months of 2024 saw an extraordinarily high level of production from renewable sources. In the weeks of March alone (calendar weeks 10-13), renewables in Austria were able to feed 4,183 GWh (gigawatt hours) of electricity into the grid, covering around 93% of Austria's electricity consumption (4,513 GWh) on balance.
At 2,662 GWh, hydropower provided a share of almost two thirds of this renewables feed-in, which is an increase of 12% compared to March 2023. At 965 GWh, wind power contributed around 23%, a plus of 11%. Due to the enormous increase in photovoltaic systems, 385 GWh of electricity, or 9 percent of the renewables share, came from solar power. These figures are proof of the dynamic growth of renewables in Austria.
"A high-capacity electricity infrastructure, storage facilities, and digital intelligence within the electricity system are required to fully utilize the expected growth rates of renewables in the coming years. APG's EUR 9 billion investment program up to 2034 is therefore central to achieving the energy transition without jeopardizing the security of supply," emphasizes Gerhard Christiner, Chief Technical Officer of APG.
The trend continues: also in March Austria was an export country for the first time in over 20 years
The exceptionally good electricity generation from renewables was the reason for Austria being able to export electricity on 19 days in March, a month when the country is usually heavily dependent on imports, as the low temperatures combined with precipitation in the form of snow limit production from hydropower in normal years.
"On balance, Austria was able to export 158 GWh in March, recording exports for the first time since 2002. This trend is reflected in the entire first quarter of 2024 with electricity exports of 490 GWh. The last time exports were recorded for this period was in 2009 – this demonstrates how incredibly dynamic the energy transition is and it highlights the importance of a high-capacity infrastructure," says Christiner.
The 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 38 days until the end of March. This causes costs which have to be borne by the electricity customers. Until the end of March, the costs generated by redispatch measures amounted to around 14.7 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 for deficits.
In March, the ‘wind strongholds’ Lower Austria (431 GWh) and Burgenland (289 GWh) were able to generate the highest energy surplus and make it available throughout Austria via the APG grid. At 176 GWh, Vienna had to draw the most electricity from the grid, alongside Styria (166 GWh).
Responsible energy consumption
In March (calendar weeks 10 – 13), 4,513 GWh of electricity were consumed from the public grid in Austria – this is around 3 percent less than in March 2023 (4,676 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.
In 2023 alone around 2,400 MW of 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 no longer occurs 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 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 depict the actual situation. Austria's actual electricity consumption can only be determined once all elements of the electricity system have been digitalized transparently. This means that in March 2024 certainly more electricity was consumed than in March 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, the Austrian population can 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/infografikenregarding 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 the 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
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