Blackout prevention and power supply safety in Austria

This study for the Austrian Parliament asks how Austria would be optimally prepared for regional power failures and nationwide blackouts.

The power grid can be considered the main artery of critical infrastructures. Due to the energy transition, it is currently undergoing a complete transformation. The energy transition also increases the complexity of the energy sector as a whole. New challenges here are, for example, the need for efficient load management and stable supply security despite fluctuations. This ITA-AIT study for Parliament asks how in a crisis security of supply and rapid restoration can be ensured –even after the switch to renewable energies.

This study, conducted by the Institute of Technology Assessment (ITA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the AIT - Austrian Institute of Technology will ask critical questions such as: What knowledge gaps exist? What is necessary, what is lacking, what need for action is there to prevent electricity shortages or blackouts from occurring or to ensure a rapid restoration of electricity supply?

Relevant developments in electricity supply in Austria and Europe will be taken into account, interviews with various experts will be conducted to shed light on the problems and associated challenges for Austria. Then it will be examined which technical and organisational measures are implemented in the event of an emergency, how the interaction of central actors in Austria functions at the provincial and the federal level and which emergency concepts, decision-making processes and reporting chains are associated with this. The aim is to create sensible measures to increase resilience.