The SAIDI value (System Average Interruption Duration Index) indicates the length of the average Power outages . It is measured either in hours or minutes per year and provides an overview of the stability of electricity grids. In accordance with Section 52 of the Energy Industry Act (EnWG), the various German grid operators send their evaluations to the Federal Network Agency. They are then summarized and published annually. According to this, the Federal Republic of Germany ranked first in 2022 with an average value of 10.8 minutes per year one of the top places in Europe, which is also one of the best in the world.
Good SAIDI value despite Section 49b EnWG
It is all the more astonishing that Germany still has a very good SAIDI value when you consider that the German Bundestag added Section 49b to the Energy Security Act (EnSiG) in the fall of 2022. This opens up the possibility of temporarily increasing the capacity utilization of the extra-high voltage grid. This was initiated against the backdrop of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the resulting explosion in energy prices. The aim at the time was to increase electricity production from renewable energies in the short term so that electricity generation from natural gas could be reduced. In addition, incentives were to be created to accelerate grid expansion, as the volatility of solar and wind energy was placing an increasing burden on the German grid. The option to temporarily increase capacity utilization in accordance with Section 49b EnWG was extended in autumn 2023 due to the positive evaluation of the SAIDI value and became part of the Solar package.
Values in European comparison
Across Europe, Germany is just ahead of Switzerland and Finland with an average of 10.8 minutes. Only Lichtenstein and Slovenia currently have more stable electricity networks. The EU’s most unstable networks are currently found in Hungary (154 minutes per year) and Romania (185 minutes per year). The final European destinations are Albania (2008 minutes per year) and Turkey (2682 minutes per year). In the global comparison, German SAIDI values are also very good. The USA, for example, experiences an average of 78 minutes of power outages per year, Australia 60 minutes or Canada 55 minutes. The absolute leader is the Tokyo region with one minute, and the lowest is Papua New Guinea with 56,400 minutes according to the World Bank records. There is no electricity from the mains for 39 days a year here.