Energy Newsletter

In September 2026, several sabotage attacks occurred on critical electricity infrastructure: RWE lost 4,200 MW baseload capacity due to an attack in North Rhine-Westphalia, while Amprion facilities were attacked in parallel. The incidents reveal massive vulnerabilities in the German power grid and endanger already strained energy supply.

European gas prices have risen from 30 €/MWh (Sept 2025) to 81 €/MWh (Sept 2026) – a doubling. Germany has stored gas at only 55% capacity (15-year low), while wholesale electricity prices have already reached 697 €/MWh. A new inflation wave driven by energy costs looms.

Vattenfall, RWE and EnBW are realizing major projects: Vattenfall approved 1 GWh battery storage at the former Brunsbüttel nuclear site, EnBW is building 400 MW/800 MWh at Philippsburg Park. These projects are central to dark lull management and grid stability in the high renewables era.

In H1 2026, wind power, solar and biogas provided 59.1% of grid feed-in – new records. However, the four TSOs show extreme regional differences: TenneT (North) 93.9% vs. Amprion (West/South) only 29.6% renewable. This comes with: electricity transmission bottlenecks and grid expansion necessities.

Germany leads European electricity price rankings (0.387 €/kWh, only Ireland higher at 0.404). Households save around 160 €/year through elimination of the gas storage surcharge, yet Germany remains a high-price country. The combination of high network fees, taxes and energy transition costs structurally burdens economy and citizens.