Saxony in favor of ending underground cable priority for grid expansion

In the view of the Saxon state government, underground cables should no longer be given priority in future when expanding the electricity grids. "In our opinion, the federal government should create the legal conditions to allow deviations from the priority of underground cables in future," the Saxon Ministry of Energy announced in response to a request.

Further expansion of renewable energies is essential in order to advance the energy transition. There is also a need to expand the transmission grids from northern to southern and eastern Germany. It is also important that the energy transition remains affordable. "It should therefore be possible to choose the most cost-effective solutions," said the ministry. Overhead lines also have the advantage that they can be installed more quickly with less impact on nature and soil.

Thousands of kilometers of new power lines need to be laid across Germany for the energy transition. The "electricity highways" are primarily intended to transport wind power from the north to the south. A significant proportion of these are to be underground cables - but these are considerably more expensive than overhead lines. The costs are passed on to all electricity customers via the grid fees. With reference to the costs, some countries are now advocating a return to above-ground high-voltage lines.

The former grand coalition of the CDU/CSU and SPD introduced the priority of underground cabling for large electricity highways in 2015. However, underground lines lead to billions in additional costs for consumers and companies.