(Frankfurt am Main/Berlin, November 13, 2026) Despite an increased threat level, Germany’s power supply remains at a top-tier level. VDE FNN announced today that the average power outage duration in 2025 was just 10.5 minutes per customer, even amid increasing demands resulting from the ongoing energy transition (in German). In 2024, it was still 12.9 minutes. To ensure the resilience of the power grids in the future, VDE FNN is calling for three policy measures.
Dr. Joachim Kabs, Chairman of the Executive Board of VDE FNN: “The risks to the power grid have changed. Therefore, we must constantly reassess resilience and adapt our mindset, as well as our preparedness and resources. At the same time, it is clear that there is no such thing as 100 percent security. The power grid is an infrastructure spread across the entire country and can therefore never be fully protected against all risks. What is crucial, rather, is to be prepared for crises and to be able to act quickly and effectively in an emergency.”
Collaboration and Decentralized Structures as the Key to Supply Security
A resilient power grid must remain functional even under exceptional stress, quickly overcome disruptions, and adapt in the long term to technical, climatic, and societal changes. Dr. Dirk Biermann, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board at VDE FNN, explains what matters most in this regard: “It is important to recognize that ensuring resilience is not a task that individual players in the power grid community can tackle on their own. It can only be achieved through close cooperation and mutual support. Germany already has a decisive advantage in this regard: its decentralized structure, with around 900 grid operators, strengthens the resilience of the overall system and enables a flexible response even in crisis situations.”
VDE FNN’s three demands are therefore as follows:
1. Design disclosure requirements to ensure security
In the past, the federal and state governments have significantly expanded disclosure requirements for grid operators. However, the abundance of publicly available information makes it too easy for potential attackers. Existing transparency requirements must be adapted to prioritize the protection of critical infrastructure.
2. Enable the monitoring of facilities
Data protection regulations prohibit video surveillance in the immediate vicinity of power facilities. Aviation regulations, in turn, make it difficult to use remote-controlled drones for surveillance. These requirements must be adjusted so that grid operators, as operators of critical infrastructure, can identify threats early and work with security authorities to counter them.
3. Accelerate recovery
In emergencies, there is no time for lengthy approval processes. Appropriate legal regulations are needed to provide all parties involved with certainty regarding the rapid construction and commissioning of temporary solutions. Key issues include property rights, rights of way, and building and operating permits.
Active consumers strengthen the power grid
As part of the energy transition and ongoing electrification, millions of households can also make an important contribution to the resilience of the power system. Ingo Schönberg, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board at VDE FNN, says that to achieve this, it is necessary to further accelerate the rollout of smart meters: “End consumers now play an active role in the energy system: They feed electricity into the grid, support load management with storage systems, and can help relieve strain on the grids during peak times by, for example, charging their electric vehicles intelligently. To unlock this potential for flexibility among end customers, the smart meter rollout must scale up. Interoperability and cybersecurity form the foundation for participation. In light of the growing threat landscape, the high level of security for critical energy infrastructures must be consistently strengthened—particularly in the context of digitalization and the necessary networking of these decentralized systems.”
