The energy company STEAG GmbH, Essen/Germany, once again registered its two Saarland power stations Weiher 3 (724 MW) and Bexbach (780 MW) with the German Federal Network Agency for provisional closure on 29th April 2019. The process has been formally started to ensure that statutory deadlines are met and to explore the prospects for both sites beyond 2020. The announcement has been made on the REMIT platform – the official transparency platform for the wholesale energy market – as required by law.
Irrespective of this new application, both power stations will remain system-relevant until the end of April 2020 for now. According to transmission system operator Amprion, they are essential for stabilising the power grid in the event of an emergency. Both STEAG power stations were each required for this reason three times between December 2018 and February 2019. The Federal Network Agency must now decide, at Amprion’s request, the extent to which the two power stations will still be system-relevant after 30th April 2020 – or whether the registered power stations can be provisionally taken off the grid from May 2020. Amprion first established the system relevance of the power stations until 30th April 2019 back in spring 2017. This means that STEAG must ensure they are ready for operation at all times. The current classification applies until 30th April 2020. (STEAG/Si.)
