Energy supply - Grid operator expects decline in gas connections from 2030
The municipal company Gasnetz Hamburg estimates a significant decrease in natural gas network connections starting from 2030. The utility company assumes that customers will give up their connections, as stated by the commercial manager of the network operator, Gabriele Eggers, during the presentation of the annual report 2023.
Reasons include rising costs and the Building Heating Act, which generally prescribes the exchange of older natural gas heating systems after 30 years. The company will continue to operate the natural gas network as long as it is economically viable, according to Eggers, without specifying a concrete end date.
The utility made no precise statements about possible cost increases for consumers. First, the so-called heat planning must be available. Hamburg must submit the plan by no later than mid-2026. Municipal heat plans should show how local heating supply can be switched to the use of renewable energies or unavoidable waste heat.
Industrial hydrogen network to go online in 2027
Gasnetz Hamburg plans to build an industrial hydrogen network south of the Elbe. The project is called HH-Win. Hamburg's Energy Senator Jens Kerstan (Greens) stated that the project would make a significant contribution to the decarbonization of industry by replacing a third of Hamburg's total natural gas consumption with green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is considered climate-friendly because it is generated with electricity from renewable energies.
Gasnetz Hamburg announced that the construction of the network should begin this summer. It is planned to go online in 2027. The technical managing director Michael Dammann initially made no statement about the total costs of the project. Future numbers will be communicated. A funding decision from the Federal Ministry of Economics is still missing. Gasnetz Hamburg expects to receive the decision.
Dammann stated that he does not assume that the company will operate a comprehensive hydrogen network in Hamburg in the future. Hydrogen will mainly be used in industrial areas.
Network operator pays 44.9 million euros to the city
Gasnetz Hamburg generated a profit of 44.9 million euros in the fiscal year 2023, as Eggers announced. The money will be fully paid to the city. In the previous fiscal year, the company generated a profit of around 600,000 euros. The relatively high result for 2023 is mainly due to the good development of a pension fund. Further business figures are not yet available.
Gasnetz and Stadtwerke Hamburg's power network are to merge in September
Hamburg residents decided in a referendum in 2013 to return the distribution networks for electricity, gas, and heat to municipal ownership. The energy networks are fully owned by the city since 2020. "The decision to return the energy networks to municipal ownership was correct," said Energy Senator Kerstan in relation to the new figures.
Gasnetz Hamburg employs more than 600 employees. The natural gas network it operates has a length of approximately 7,900 kilometers and about 160,000 household connections. There are around 230,000 network customers. In September, Gasnetz Hamburg and the similarly municipal company Stromnetz Hamburg are to merge.
- The decrease in natural gas network connections in Hamburg is expected to begin around 2030, largely due to rising costs and the Building Heating Act's requirements for exchanging older natural gas heating systems.
- Electricity will play a crucial role in the replacement of natural gas, as the utility company plans to build an industrial hydrogen network, HH-Win, which is expected to go online in 2027.
- The German government's Building Energy Act and the rising costs of natural gas are incentivizing customers to give up their connections, leading to a potential decrease in the energy supply from natural gas.
- The financial situation of the utility company remains stable, as demonstrated by its 44.9 million euro profit in 2023, which will be fully paid to the city.
- Energy Senator Jens Kerstan has praised the decision to return the energy networks to municipal ownership, which includes both Gasnetz Hamburg and Stromnetz Hamburg, and will result in their merger in September.
- The hydrogen network, while beneficial for decarbonizing industry, is not expected to become a comprehensive solution for Hamburg's energy supply, with hydrogen primarily being used in industrial areas.
