Energy Newsletter

European gas prices have risen from €30/MWh (Sept. 2025) to €81/MWh (Sept. 2026) – a doubling triggered by Hormuz blockade and lack of Russian deliveries. Germany is storing gas at only 62% (target: 90%), fueling winter speculation. Electricity prices follow merit-order logic and thus rise proportionally with gas prices, burdening households and industry.

Unknown attackers targeted the German power grid in North Rhine-Westphalia, taking 4,200 MW of RWE baseload capacity offline, which drove intraday electricity prices to €4.50/MWh. Amprion CEO calls for drone surveillance and political security reforms. The series of sabotage attacks on critical infrastructure signals elevated security risks for supply stability.

Germany generated 59.1% of its electricity from renewable sources in H1 2026 – a record with +1.1 percentage points YoY. TenneT zone achieved 93.9% renewable energy share, while Amprion only reached 29.6% (regional imbalance). Massive solar expansion dynamics and planned 22 GW annually from 2026 onwards drive transformation, but require massive grid expansion.

RWE and Total Energies begin construction phase of Oranje Wind offshore park (795 MW) with integrated battery storage and hydrogen infrastructure. Vattenfall simultaneously markets 285 MW of German battery portfolio and EnBW builds 400 MW/800 MWh storage in Philippsburg. Major investments in storage technology become key strategy for grid stability with high renewable energy share.

The four transmission system operators (50Hertz, Amprion, TenneT, TransnetBW) are increasing 2027 network charges following the phase-out of 2026 subsidies, leading to electricity price increases. TenneT carries ~€28 billion net debt, Amprion/50Hertz each ~€10 billion – refinancing pressure for massive infrastructure investments. Simultaneously, import surplus shrinks by 1% to 231.2 billion kWh, signaling supply autonomy.