DORTMUND (dpa-AFX) - Transmission system operator Amprion does not expect the shutdown of the last German nuclear power plants to pose any additional threats to supply security in the German power grid. Thanks to the measures it has prepared, ranging from the provision of additional conventional reserve capacity to better use of existing high-voltage lines, grid stability and thus security of supply for the rest of the year and also in the coming winter will be at a level comparable to that before the nuclear phase-out, Amprion CEO Hans-Jürgen Brick said on Thursday.

Amprion is one of four transmission system operators responsible for electricity highways, or the flow of electricity across regions, in Germany. Several routes are currently planned across Germany to transport wind power generated in the north to the south.

Amprion plans to invest around 22 billion euros in the expansion of the electricity grid over the next five years. By way of comparison, in fiscal 2022 Amprion invested €1.5 billion in expanding and upgrading the grid infrastructure. This year, investments of €2.8 billion are planned.

"A new phase of the energy transition is beginning, in which we are increasingly moving from planning to implementation. We are currently implementing more projects than ever before," said Brick. He said the focus is on expanding the important north-south direct current corridors on land and implementing the first four offshore grid connection systems.

Brick emphasized that the acceleration of procedures initiated by the German government is now beginning to show results. As a result of the German government's acceleration targets, Amprion has awarded the world's first two-gigawatt offshore grid connection systems, BalWin1 and BalWin2, and will put them into operation two and three years earlier, respectively, in 2029 and 2030. For the underground cable project from Rastede to Bürstadt, Amprion plans to submit the planning approval documents as early as mid-2024 - an acceleration of two years.

The company had received permits for more than 200 line kilometers in 2022 and could complete 115 line kilometers

- more than ever before./rea/DP/mis