Electricity moves the world. Uninterruptible power supply and grid stability are technically complex. The energy transition requires a new infrastructure. Will this come in time?

The last nuclear power plants in Germany will go off the grid as early as 2022, and their energy will be missing. It is still unclear when the first major power line will distribute green wind power from the coast throughout the country. Grid expansion is controversial

Do we need it? Up to now, nuclear and coal-fired power have provided the base load for our grid, which must always be available. It is currently between 40 and 80 gigawatts in Germany. The decision to phase out coal by 2038 is a done deal. In the future, wind turbines near the coast will take over a large part of this base load.

Production is one thing, transport is another. There are two main technical problems to be solved: the balancing of energy fluctuations on windless days and the construction of a direct current grid across Germany. This is because the alternating current grid, which has brought electrical energy to consumers up to now, is not suitable for transporting electricity over a distance of more than 300 kilometres - the losses and costs would be too high.

The alternative to supraregional power lines: produce and consume renewable energy regionally. However, there are no large wind farms in the south as there are in the north. Power sources and power storage

Opponents of electricity transmission lines are convinced that photovoltaics in particular can close the gap. Even if this is mathematically possible, however, the intelligent connection of new electricity sources and electricity storage systems is lacking at the local level in the electricity distribution grid.

Many municipal utilities do not yet have digital information about the many new sources of electricity from wind, solar, hydropower, biomass or geothermal energy - and they certainly cannot be controlled. If there is a permanent lack of electricity for the base load, but also for the power peaks, there is a threat of blackout. And not only in Germany, but throughout Europe.

The energy transition cannot succeed without a comprehensive renewal of the electricity grids. Among other things, the film team visits the power frequency monitor for the continental European interconnected grid with its almost 500 million people in Brauweiler near Cologne and explains the technical basics that are necessary to ensure that electricity is available everywhere at all times.