EU approves German stake in subsidiary of Dutch grid operator Tennet

The European Commission has approved the German government’s planned acquisition of a stake in the German subsidiary of Dutch grid operator Tennet.

The EU's executive arm said that the transaction does not give rise to any competition concerns.

This paves the way for German plans to acquire a 25.1% stake in Tennet Deutschland for around €3.3 billion ($3.8 billion) via the state-owned development bank KfW, according to previous information from the Dutch parent company.

Tennet Deutschland is the largest of four transmission system operators in Germany and operates an extra-high-voltage electricity grid spanning around 14,000 kilometres between northern Germany and Bavaria.

The Dutch Tennet parent company has been trying for years to sell off its German subsidiary or bring investors on board, with the Dutch government arguing that maintaining and expanding the German high-voltage grid requires significant investment and is not part of the remit of a Dutch state-owned company.

As part of Germany's energy transition to renewables, thousands of kilometres of new power lines need to be built so that energy from wind power, which is mainly generated in the north, can reach major consumption centres in the south. The expansion of the grid is expected to cost many billions of euros.