Germany’s Electricity Imports Reach Record High in 2024, Data Shows
Germany’s electricity imports have more than doubled since 2019, with the country now relying on imports from several countries, primarily France, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium, according to data from the German Federal Network Agency.
The German taxpayer has been forced to foot the bill for the country’s catastrophic energy policy, with Germany importing more electricity than it exports for the second consecutive year, resulting in a total cost of 2.3 billion euros, a record high.
The root of the problem is the lack of competitive electricity production in Germany, leading to a greater reliance on imports to meet domestic demand. In 2024, Germany imported almost 77,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity, while exporting around 48,200 gigawatt-hours abroad.
Manuel Frondel, head of the “Environment and Resources” department at the Rhine-Westphalian Institute of Economics, said the situation is critical, with Germany often having to import electricity at night because the country’s installed solar capacity of around 100 gigawatts is unable to contribute to the power supply at that time. He suggested that the new government should reconsider the target of 215 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2030, as the current situation shows that even 100 gigawatts of solar capacity is not enough to meet the country’s needs at night.
Germany’s reliance on imports has particularly increased from France, with monthly values more than doubling in comparison to 2023. In November, the country imported 960 gigawatts of electricity, with up to 80% of that coming from nuclear power in France.
This is a significant shift from the country’s previously reliable nuclear power supply, which was shut down due to political pressure and subsequent decisions. The last three nuclear power plants in Germany, Isar 2, Emsland, and Neckarwestheim 2, were shut down in April 2023.
Germany is now a net importer of electricity, with the import volume continuing to rise. Despite the high cost of imported electricity, it is still cheaper than coal or gas from domestic sources. German companies have paid a total of 5.3 billion euros for the imported electricity, while the country’s electricity exports have only generated 3 billion euros.
At the end of the year, Germany’s gas consumption was 9.7% lower than the average of the years 2018 to 2021, prior to the events in Ukraine in February 2022 and the subsequent fatal political decisions of the government coalition.
The head of the German Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, said the country’s power storage is still 80% full, providing a three-month buffer.