Survey: German companies increasingly affected by power supply interruptions

German companies are increasingly experiencing short-term interruptions to their electricity supply. Surveys of businesses conducted by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) confirm this.

According to the survey, short-term power outages lasting up to three minutes are becoming more frequent in Germany. The share of companies surveyed that reported these outages rose from 9 to 16% between 2022 and 2024. A total of 3500 companies from various sectors were surveyed.

Companies in the industrial sector were affected even more, with almost 25% reporting interruptions to their electricity supply lasting less than three minutes. A further 11% even experienced longer outages. The DIHK did not ask companies about the precise reasons for the interruptions, Tagesspiegel reports.

“Many companies are increasingly concerned about their energy supply. Even short outages cause problems for businesses. They can lead to significant disruption to production processes, particularly in industry,” says Achim Dercks, Deputy Chief Executive of the DIHK.

The analysis also shows that these power outages sometimes have a significant financial impact on businesses. Around half of the affected companies incur additional costs, for example due to production stoppages and equipment damage. For many companies, these costs range from 10 000 to 50 000 euros, and in some cases are estimated at more than 100 000 euros.

Companies are also becoming more vulnerable to outages as a result of digitalisation and the shift to electricity-based processes to save CO₂ emissions, Tagesspiegel writes.

“Stable electricity grids must be a top priority in an industrial centre such as Germany. This is all the more important given the ongoing electrification of industrial production processes,” Dercks said.

Around half of companies are taking their own measures

According to the DIHK survey, around half of companies have already taken or are planning to take their own measures to protect themselves against short-term interruptions to their electricity supply. These include emergency generators and battery systems.

“The results clearly show that companies, grid operators and the Federal Network Agency should work together to find good solutions. After all, complex questions need to be considered, particularly what level of security the electricity grid must guarantee and where, by contrast, companies’ responsibility begins. Clearly, further expansion of the electricity grids can also be an important part of addressing this challenge,” Dercks added.

Electricity supply in Germany is reliable by international standards

Overall, electricity supply in Germany is highly reliable by international standards. In 2023, households and businesses were without electricity for an average of 12.8 minutes (the SAIDI indicator for unplanned supply interruptions), one of the lowest figures internationally.

In the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (CEER)’s latest benchmarking report, published in 2022 and comparing indicators for the reliability of electricity and gas supply in 2018, Germany recorded the shortest duration of unplanned electricity supply interruptions in Europe.