The eastern German electricity grid operator Mitnetz Strom is planning investments of 565 million euros this year for the expansion and optimization of the grid. This is 40 million euros more than last year, the company announced. This means that the company is investing more than ever before in resilience and the energy transition, compared to 288 million euros in 2020, says outgoing Technical Managing Director Dirk Sattur. He will be replaced by Lutz Eckenroth.
The Mitnetz grid covers parts of Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.
Renewable energies with growth
The grid expansion is necessary due to renewable energies. The grid area now has an installed capacity of more than 12 gigawatts, it said. One gigawatt was added within a year. "This makes us a strong green engine for economic development in the region. In addition, there are numerous grid connection requests from industry and operators of battery storage systems and data centers," said Christine Janssen, Commercial Director.
AI boom increases demand for data centers
The high demand for data centers is primarily associated with the boom in artificial intelligence. In 2024, there was demand for connections in the data center sector alone amounting to almost 7 gigawatts of power, Janssen announced. This trend continued in the first quarter of this year.
More than 3 billion euros planned for network expansion by 2030
According to Sattur, the high demand for infrastructure services will also lead to a high level of investment in the future. By 2030, more than three billion euros are planned for the expansion and development of the network: around 1.5 billion euros in Saxony, one billion euros in Saxony-Anhalt, 700 million euros in Brandenburg and 100 million euros in Thuringia. The company remains a reliable partner for municipalities, industry, commerce and private customers.
"Smartification" of the electricity grid is on the agenda
At the same time, the company is focusing on the "smartification" of the electricity grid. This involves the expansion of digital transformer stations. This year, 500 of these are to be added, and by 2030 more than 4,000 will have been built and 3,000 digitally retrofitted. Mitnetz has a total of 20,000 local network transformer stations. The aim is to better monitor power requirements and initiate appropriate measures in the event of imminent overloading of the distribution grids.
Price increases for materials and operating resources
Like other industries, the energy supply sector also has to deal with higher prices. Sattur put the increases at 20 to 30 percent - primarily as a result of price increases for steel, aluminum and copper. However, there have also been significant increases in operating materials. This means that you can only build the same amount with more money. "We are still trying to generate added value from the region, i.e. to work with medium-sized companies from the region." However, there are market prices.
Mitnetz does not fear any direct consequences of the US tariff policy. Essential operating equipment such as switchgear and transformers do not come from American production, it said. However, with the supply chains that exist today, it is difficult to assess what impact this will have in the future, said Sattur.
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