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Germany faces USD 2.5 bn electricity trade deficit in 2023: daily

Photo by Bernd Lauter/Getty Images
Photo by Bernd Lauter/Getty Images
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According to the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper, Germany incurred a EUR 2.29 billion (USD 2.49 billion) international electricity trade deficit last year. This was attributed to the closure of its last nuclear power plant and imports of cheaper foreign power.

The country imported electricity at a cost of EUR 5.7 billion in 2023, offset by export revenues of EUR 3.5 billion, pushing Europe’s largest economy into a negative electricity trade balance for the first time in years, the daily reported, citing data by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA).

Some 54 terawatts, or around 11% of total German electricity consumption, were imported in 2023, while exports amounted to 42 terawatts, BNetzA said.

A rise in wholesale electricity imports from neighboring countries lowered German consumer power prices, BNetzA said, adding that Germany had sufficient generation capacity to cover its needs.

“If electricity was imported, it was because the electricity was cheaper abroad,” a spokesperson for BNetzA told Augsburger Allgemeine.

Germany pulled the plug on its last three nuclear power stations last March, ending a six-decade program as Berlin pursues its plan for fully renewable electricity generation by 2035.

The jump in electricity imports also helped slash German coal-fired power generation and greenhouse emissions last year, putting the country on track to reach its climate goals for 2030 of cutting emissions by 65% compared with 1990 and becoming carbon neutral by 2045.
Source: Reuters
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