Amprion accelerates grid expansion and invests more than ever before

Transmission system operator Amprion is stepping up the pace of grid expansion and continues to grow. In the past financial year, investments more than doubled to a record level of around €3 billion. By 2028 Amprion plans to invest around €27.5 billion in the expansion and upgrading of the transmission grid.

“The statutory measures introduced to accelerate grid expansion are having an impact. We are moving into the implementation phase and will complete key projects ahead of time,” says Dr Hans-Jürgen Brick, CEO of Amprion GmbH. For example, the company has been able to bring forward the start of construction of the A-Nord direct current link by a whole year. In conjunction with the Ultranet project, A-Nord will be the first wind power corridor in Germany to transport large volumes of green electricity from the North Sea to the west of Germany and as far south as Baden-Württemberg, going into operation in 2027.

Amprion has tripled its investments in grid expansion since 2021. This dynamic growth, however, is subject to certain preconditions. “We need a regulatory framework that keeps pace with the ambitious goals of the energy transition,” says Brick. This also includes an internationally competitive pre-tax equity interest rate of 7.5% for all investments.

Amprion’s CEO also sees challenges ahead for the energy transition. “Energy is still too expensive in Germany. The balance between climate protection, security of supply and affordability has got out of kilter”. Brick therefore called for the nationwide costs for congestion management to be excluded from grid fees. These transformation costs could be financed from proceeds of the Climate and Transformation fund. "This would almost halve the grid fees and provide quick and unbureaucratic relief to the economy and consumers," said Brick.

Strong business performance in 2023

Last year, Amprion was able to both significantly increase its key earnings figures and further expand its workforce. With the recruitment of around 400 additional employees, the workforce has grown to 2,721. This is an increase of more than 16% compared to the previous year.

Revenue according to IFRS rose by 37.5% to around €4.8 billion. From 2023 onwards, the IFRS-based performance measures are adjusted for other significant regulatory effects. Adjusted consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) amounted to around €980 million, which corresponds to a year-on-year increase of around 27%. Adjusted consolidated earnings after taxes (net income) rose by some 49% to around €339 million.

The increases in these adjusted figures are mainly due to higher income from increased investment activity and the associated growth in the regulated asset base (RAB). The RAB builds the basis for future revenues and has risen by around 27% to round about €8.4 billion in 2023.

Successful capacity safeguarding strategy

“We look back on a successful 2023. To implement our projects, we will need a multitude of different components and services in the coming years, some of which we have already secured by contract,” says Peter Rüth, Amprion’s CFO. These capacities, with a total value of some €17 billion, are an important prerequisite for further grid expansion, he explains, but adds, “This growth also brings challenges with it. There are limits to the extent we can keep accelerating projects – because as a business, we have to keep an eye on economic feasibility.”

Amprion plans to invest approximately €3.9 billion in grid expansion over the course of 2024.

Sustainability report updated

Amprion is publishing a sustainability update together with its 2023 Annual Report. By doing so, the company is laying the foundations for the requirements set out in the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Amprion will publish its financial report accordingly from the 2025 reporting year, which will in addition include the sustainability report in the Group management report.

In the past financial year, Amprion further improved its ESG Risk Rating from Sustainalytics to 9.3, which corresponds to the best risk category achievable: “negligible”.

You can call up our IFRS consolidated financial statements 2023 by clicking here.
The 2023 sustainability update can be accessed via the following link.

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