Natural gas is a phased-out model. By 2045 at the latest, no more fossil gas may be burned. Nevertheless, investments are being made in pipelines, compressors and other network technology on a large scale. According to the Federal Network Agency, in 2021 the distribution network operators alone invested a record sum of 1.1 billion euros in expanding and extending the lines that bring natural gas to households and companies. This extensive network covers around 500,000 kilometers, of which 340,000 kilometers are in the hands of the municipalities. “We are talking about a huge national wealth here,” says Ingbert Liebing, general manager of the Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU).
Helmut Buender
Business correspondent in Düsseldorf.
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The question of what will become of this national wealth when natural gas runs out is not only a question for the municipal utilities. When Patrick Graichen (Greens) was still State Secretary, the political announcements from the Federal Ministry of Economics were pretty clear: dismantle and process – and under no circumstances put more money into the network. According to calculations by the Agora Energiewende think tank, no more than a tenth of the network will be needed by 2045 – even if a conversion to hydrogen is already taken into account. A new “regulatory framework” is therefore necessary for timely decommissioning in order to avoid bad investments.