Clear commitment from TSOs to security of electricity supply for 170 million European citizens

• Eleven companies responsible for providing a safe electricity supply to 170 million European citizens commit to further improve security of electricity supply across Europe
• Growing operational needs throughout Central Europe in the context of the integration of wind power, increased crossborder trading and electricity transport.
• New real-time Telepresence system to be introduced amongst Control Centres

On 13 November 2009 eleven CEOs of the Transmission System Operator (TSO) Security Cooperation (“TSC”) signed a Letter of Intent to further improve security of electricity supply across Europe with common measures. At the meeting hosted in Zurich by the Swiss TSO swissgrid, grid experts presented insights that will help shape the future of electricity supply across Europe.

Rudi Baumann, Chairman of the TSC-Steering Committee, said: “This important step forward will further improve the security of the power grids throughout Central Europe. All the companies involved are committed to providing our 170 million customers with a secure transmission service as we move towards a new decade and the demands for energy it will bring.”

An innovative TelePresence system was presented as a new communication platform for improving collaboration between grid Control Centres in real-time providing additional support for the coordination of grid operations.

Albert-László Barabási, a professor from the USA studying complex networks such as social, biological, technical and economical networks – presented his scientific works with important insights for the secure operation of electricity transmission systems in Europe.

Anjali Sheffrin, Chief Economist of CAISO, who oversees the development of new products and services for the $12 billion California wholesale electricity market, shared her information of the development of the Californian power market and the impacts on transmission grid security.

TSO Security Cooperation

Transmission System Operators (TSO) VERBUND - Austrian Power Grid AG, Tiwag Netz, VKW Netz AG (Austria), swissgrid (Switzerland), EnBW Transportnetze AG, transpower stromübertragungs gmbh, Amprion GmbH, VE Transmission (Germany), TenneT TSO (The Netherlands), PSE Operator (Poland) and ČEPS (Czech Republic) launched in December 2008 an initiative to foster regional European cooperation for system security in the concerned countries and in whole Europe. The involved TSOs agreed to start up the “TSO System Security Cooperation” with the aim to build up a permanent TSO Security Panel (group of security experts), new cooperation tools for Control Centres and a common IT platform for data exchange and performing common security assessments. TSCs main goal is to ensure the overall system security of the European network, an area with 170 million citizens, and is open to the participation of other TSOs.

For further information, please contact:

• Joëlle Bouillon, Press Officer, transpower stromübertragungs gmbh
  Tel: +49 (0)921 / 915 4046, e-mail: joelle.bouillon@transpower.de
• Olivier Feix, Head of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, VE Transmission
  Tel: +49 30 51503813, e-mail: olivier.feix@vattenfall.de
• Thomas Hegglin, Head of Corporate Communications, swissgrid
  Tel: +41 58 580 2400, e-mail: thomas.hegglin@swissgrid.ch
• Pavla Mandátová, PR Specialist, ČEPS
  Tel: +420725805690, e-mail: mandatova@ceps.cz
• Andreas Neuhauser, Head of communication department, VKW-Netz
  Tel: +43 (0) 5574 601 72600, e-mail: Andreas.Neuhauser@VKW.at
• Kirsten Koenigs, EnBW Transportnetze AG
  Tel: +49 (0) 711128 2271, e-mail: K. Koenigs@enbw.com
• Marian Rappl, Head of Corporate Communications, Amprion
  Tel: +49 231 438-3679, e-mail: marian.rappl@amprion.net
• Klaus Schüller, Authorised Officer, TIWAG-Netz
  Tel: +43 (0)50708 26301, e-mail: klaus.schueller@tiwag-netz.at
• Gerald Schulze, Head of Communications, Verbund APG
  Tel: +43 (0)50 313 56230, e-mail: Gerald.Schulze@verbund.at
• Piotr Uhma, Director, Corporate Communication Office, PSE Operator
  Tel: +48 222421924 e-mail: piotr.uhma@pse-operator.pl
• Petra Wessels, Communication, TenneT TSO
  Tel: +31263732117, e-mail: p.wessels@tennet.org