Participation in federal sector planning for grid expansion projects, submission of comments on electricity grid expansion projects, registration for events

Projects for the construction of high-voltage lines that are designated as transnational or cross-border are subject to federal sectoral planning. The Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) examines whether the realization of the project in a route corridor conflicts with public or private interests.

You have three opportunities to formally participate in the federal sectoral planning process:

• The first important opportunity is the public application conference. This is held by the Federal Network Agency after it has received the application for federal sectoral planning. The project sponsors prepare the application beforehand. At the conference, the Federal Network Agency collects information on the regional circumstances. Anyone who also has alternatives to the proposed corridors can present these at the application conference. The Federal Network Agency also accepts information on environmental and spatial compatibility. From this, it forms a homework booklet for the project developers, the so-called investigation framework.
• The next opportunity for participation is an official and public consultation. This takes place after the project developer has completed its investigations. The Federal Network Agency publishes information on the interpretation on its
  • website
  • and the local daily newspapers.
• You can submit comments as a private individual, as an association or as a public body. Public interest bodies are, for example, municipal authorities.
• Once the Federal Network Agency has received and reviewed all comments, it organizes a hearing. This is the third and final opportunity to participate in the federal sectoral planning process. At this meeting, it discusses the comments submitted in good time with the project developer, the public interest bodies and those who submitted them. In contrast to the application conference, private individuals can only participate in this meeting if they have submitted a statement.