50Hertz in 2015

50HERTZ I N 2 0 1 5

THE SOUTH-WEST INTERCONNECTOR, A EUROPEAN PRIORITY PROJECT, STARTS OPERATIONAL TESTS

The ‘European priority project’ known as the South-West Interconnector, between Thuringia and northern Bavaria, is one of the most important connections for ensuring a successful energy transition. On 17 December 2015, electricity flowed for the first time along the entire length of the line, which is divided into three sections between Halle/Saale (Saxony-Anhalt) and Schweinfurt (Bavaria). Tremendous efforts made by 50Hertz experts and the other companies involved enabled the circuit along the third section of the interconnector to be completed ahead of schedule and before the onset of winter, thus ensuring grid stability in northern Bavaria and somewhat reducing congestion-related costs between northern and southern Germany. As a result, 50Hertz was able to start operationally testing the first circuit of the SWKL’s third section before winter took hold.

50HERTZ SEEN AS AN ATTRACTIVE EMPLOYER

In 2015, 50Hertz received a total of 3,756 job applications, 121 of which were successful, the candidates being offered a position. It was also a record year for the company in terms of training, with 12 apprentices and three trainees, the highest numbers ever, beginning their careers with 50Hertz. This entails additional responsibilities for young and old alike, so in 2015, to enable itself to give employees at different stages in life the support they need, 50Hertz concluded the Support and Continued Employability Agreement (Vereinbarung zur Förderung und zum Erhalt der Beschäftigungsfähigkeit). This agreement sets out health promotion measures and offers options for tailoring lifetime working-time arrangements to individuals’ needs.

FINANCING INVESTMENTS IN THE ENERGY TRANSITION – NEW BONDS AT 50HERTZ

In 2015, 50Hertz issued corporate bonds worth a record total of nearly €1.4 billion to finance the development and upgrading of its transmission system. The bonds were launched on the Luxembourg stock market, which is where they will also be traded. The money raised will be invested primarily into developing the transmission grid, which includes the grid connection of the offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea.

121

NEW HIRES IN 2015

955

EMPLOYEES*

* Figures for 50Hertz Transmission GmbH, 50Hertz Offshore

GmbH and Eurogrid GmbH.

SOLAR ECLIPSE CAUSES NO SYSTEM PROBLEMS

Since renewables account for a large share of Germany’s power generation, the solar eclipse was especially challenging for the team running 50Hertz’s system. Within 70 minutes of the end of the moon’s passage between our planet and the sun on the morning of 20 March 2015, the volume of solar power generated in Germany rose by around 14 GW, the sharpest increase in output ever recorded. Thanks to new system management procedures, first-rate cooperation between European transmission system operators and new products enabling market participants to buy and sell energy products for short time slots at just under real time, grid balance and system stability were never under threat. The day was a stress test for the entire system, but showed just how well-equipped 50Hertz already is to keep the power grid balanced as renewable generation grows further.

ON COURSE OFFSHORE

Germany’s first commercial offshore wind farm Baltic 1 came on stream in the Baltic Sea in 2011 and was followed in 2015 by the connection to the grid of a second generating facility, Baltic 2. This wind farm’s 80 offshore turbines are located in the Baltic Sea, 32 kilometres north of the island of Rügen, and have an installed capacity of 288 MW. In April 2015, 50Hertz took the first of two 150 kV sea cables into trial operation, and since September 2015 the wind farm has been fully operational and feeding its output into the German power grid. In Lubmin on 18 August 2015, in the presence of the minister-president of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, 50Hertz also started construction work on a connection to a third wind farm in the Baltic Sea off Germany. The grid integration of the Baltic 2 wind farm constitutes another important step towards efficient, sustainable offshore energy development in the Baltic Sea.

MOUNTING EXCITEMENT ABOUT MOVING TO A NEW HEAD OFFICE

In September 2016, the staff of 50Hertz will move into new headquarters – the 50Hertz Netzquartier – next to Berlin’s Central Station. The building’s open structure is designed to reflect the cultural transformation going on within the company. Since construction work began, 50Hertz staff have been actively involved in the design of their new workplace, and in 2015 preparations for the move entered their decisive phase. In this context staff were e.g. invited to view and assess furniture and furnishings for the future headquarters in a bid to promote a working environment characterised by communication and cooperation.