The Federal Network Agency has published the current SAIDI value (System Average Interruption Duration Index) for the Year 2024 published. According to this, the average outage per connected end consumer was only 11.7 minutes – after 12.8 minutes in 2023. This improves the security of supply in the German power grid and remains at a globally outstanding level.
The SAIDI value as an indicator of supply security
The SAIDI value measures the average duration of power outages per consumer in minutes per year. It is based on Section 52 of the Energy Industry Act (EnWG), which requires all network operators to report unplanned supply interruptions lasting more than three minutes. The Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) analyzes this data annually and publishes it as an indicator of supply quality.
For 2024 accounted 9.2 minutes on the Medium voltage level and 2.4 minutes on the Low voltage level. The number of reported disturbances increased slightly to around 164,600 cases, however, these could be resolved more quickly on average than in the previous year. Overall, this demonstrates efficient operational management and high technical resilience in grid operations, despite the continued high integration of renewable energy facilities.
Germany's values rank highest in Europe
In an international comparison, it is once again confirmed: The German power grid is one of the most stable in Europe. Only Switzerland records with 10 minutes an even lower average outage duration. With 11.7 minutes, Germany is in second place ahead of other European countries that collect their SAIDI values annually.
With this, the Security of supply in Germany over twenty times higher as in some Eastern European countries. Even in a global comparison – for example with the USA (approx. 70–80 minutes) or Australia (60 minutes) – the German power grid remains above-average stable.
High network stability despite growing load
The energy transition presents the power grid with ever-new challenges. Decentralized feed-in, volatile generation, and rising peak loads demand high flexibility in grid operation. Nevertheless, the current SAIDI value shows that the integration of renewable energies has not yet had any negative impact on security of supply. According to Klaus Müller, President of the Federal Network Agency, „no negative trends regarding long-term interruptions are discernible.“ The current value is also below the Ten-year average of 12.7 minutes – a clear sign of robust network structures and functioning operating processes.
Outlook: Security of supply as a location factor
A reliable power supply is of central importance not only for private households but especially for industry and commerce. The again low SAIDI value sends a positive signals for the economy and confirms Germany as a location with high network quality and Operational Safety. With the ongoing expansion of the grid, digital grid monitoring, and the use of intelligent storage technologies, this stability can be maintained even with a further growing share of renewable energies.