A grid expansion plan is the counterpart to the grid development plan – but at the distribution grid level. Distribution system operators use it to provide transparency about where capacity bottlenecks are expected in their grid area over the coming years and which specific expansion measures are planned.
The plan provides the strategic foundation for investments in new lines, primary and secondary substations, and grid reinforcements — particularly in view of the increasing number of heat pumps and photovoltaic systems, and the expanding charging infrastructure for e-mobility.
Legal context and strategic relevance
According to Section 14d of the German Energy Industry Act (EnWG), distribution grid operators with more than 100,000 directly or indirectly connected customers are legally required to prepare a grid expansion plan.
These operators must submit their grid expansion plan to the competent regulatory authority every two years. This obligation also applies to grid operators that, within the previous two years, have independently curtailed technically feasible electricity generation from wind or solar power by more than 3 %.
The roughly 880 remaining distribution grid operators in Germany are generally involved in preparing grid expansion plans by providing essential information and estimates about their local grids to the larger DSOs.
State regulatory authorities and funding bodies are also increasingly calling for greater transparency and predictability. In some German states, grid expansion plans are already a mandatory part of grid planning.
A well-prepared grid expansion plan takes into account both technical grid analyses and municipal developments, for example in heat planning or spatial planning. It is an important tool for prioritizing, coordinating, and communicating grid expansion measures — internally as well as externally.
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Tip: With envelio’s Intelligent Grid Platform (IGP), grid expansion plans can be created in a data-driven, standardized, and cross-voltage-level manner and updated on a regular basis.
Link to strategic grid planning
The grid expansion plan is focused on operations but often builds on an upstream strategic target grid planning process. While target grid planning considers long-term scenarios and developments (e.g., heat planning, Section 14a EnWG or Section 9 EEG), the grid expansion plan translates them into concrete measures for the coming years.
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