The Free State of Bavaria is further expanding its preparedness measures against large-scale power outages. Joachim Herrmann, Minister of the Interior and Civil Protection, presented new emergency power generators for Bavarian fire departments in Nuremberg. The aim is to equip every district administrative authority – i.e. all districts and independent cities – with appropriate emergency power technology to ensure the supply of power to the population and the operation of critical infrastructure in the event of prolonged power outages.
“Our goal is: Every district and independent city in Bavaria should receive an emergency power generator set in order to minimise the impact on the population and keep critical infrastructure running in the event of a prolonged power outage,” explained Herrmann.
The generator sets consist of several emergency power generators of different sizes and additional technical equipment. In an emergency, they can either supply buildings directly or feed electricity into existing grids.
Nineteen districts and independent cities have already received their first sets of equipment, including Ansbach, Erlangen and Nuremberg. Since 2022, the Free State has invested around 29 million euros in the expansion of emergency power capacities as part of the special investment programme ‘Disaster Control Bavaria 2030’.
Supplementary energy supply through THW systems
At the same time, Bavaria is procuring additional high-performance emergency power systems for the electrical supply specialist groups of the Technical Relief Service (THW). A total of 21 systems, each with a capacity of 650 kilovolt amperes, are to be delivered starting in autumn.
These systems are capable of temporarily supplying larger facilities such as hospitals or even entire districts with electricity. This will significantly expand the Free State’s ability to cope with large-scale power outages.
Herrmann emphasised that, in addition to the Free State’s investments, the federal government is also considering measures to establish a national blackout reserve. At the same time, the municipal level remains a central component of crisis preparedness.
Municipal blackout concepts are gaining in importance
Several municipalities are using the new equipment sets to supplement existing power failure prevention concepts.
Erlangen’s mayor, Florian Janik, referred to the city’s comprehensive blackout concept, which includes so-called ‘lighthouses’ as contact points for the population.
Nuremberg’s mayor, Marcus König, also emphasised the increasing relevance of such precautionary measures: a prolonged power failure – whether a brownout or blackout – is no longer a purely theoretical scenario.
In addition to technical equipment, volunteers also play a crucial role. Many systems are operated and maintained by firefighters who are specially trained for this purpose.
Disaster control as a joint task
The Free State sees the expansion of emergency power supply as part of a multi-stage crisis prevention concept. In addition to government investment and municipal emergency plans, Interior Minister Herrmann also appealed to the population to take their own precautions.
Private households should also prepare for possible crisis situations – for example, by stockpiling emergency supplies, flashlights or alternative means of communication. This would relieve the burden on emergency services in the event of an emergency and allow them to concentrate on particularly critical tasks.
Comment: Preparedness also means consistency
The expansion of mobile emergency power capacities is an important step towards ensuring the resilience of critical infrastructure. Blackouts – triggered by extreme weather conditions, cyber attacks or grid instability – are now considered a realistic scenario in disaster control throughout Europe.
That is precisely why, despite all solidarity in international crises, one thing should not happen: that such equipment is given away lightly.
In Germany, we have already seen where symbolic political decisions can lead. In Berlin, emergency power generators from civil protection stocks were given away, either permanently or temporarily, to other countries – even though there is ongoing discussion about the lack of crisis preparedness.
Disaster control only works if preparedness is permanently ensured. Generators are not political gifts, but critical infrastructure.
Anyone who takes resilience seriously should therefore observe a simple rule: procure emergency power – and keep it in the country.
