Federal Sectoral Planning Advisory Council
Grid expansion is one of the biggest challenges in the history of Germany's energy policy. Its success depends on the joint efforts of various players, beyond party and federal state borders. This is why the legislators paved the way for the Federal Sectoral Planning Advisory Council, which supports the Bundesnetzagentur with its guidance and expertise.
The inaugural meeting took place in Bonn on 21 June 2012 on the basis of section 32 of the Grid Expansion Acceleration Act (NABEG).
The Federal Sectoral Planning Advisory Council is to meet regularly and its meetings are not public. The purpose of the body is to provide a forum for the exchange of experience and views between the Bundesnetzagentur and the federal states and among the federal states. The Council acts as a link in particular between the Bundesnetzagentur and the federal states in this specialist area. This is important as the federal states' planning and decisions need to be integrated into every step of the grid expansion process, from planning the approximate routes to deciding on the route corridors or even granting planning approval for individual plots of land. The best outcome depends on everyone involved working together, and the Council lays the groundwork for this.
Tasks
The Federal Sectoral Planning Advisory Council's tasks include the following:
- It provides guidance on fundamental federal sectoral planning matters, drawing up the Federal Grid Plan and planning approval principles.
- It accompanies the continuous process of expanding the transmission networks. This enables the federal states' spatial planning interests to be identified at an early stage and taken into account in the federal sectoral planning process. The official explanatory notes on the legislation assume that the Council will not discuss individual expansion measures as such but rather the issue of expanding the transmission networks from a more general perspective.
- As an advisory body, the Council is entitled to request general information and opinions from the Bundesnetzagentur. In this respect, the Bundesnetzagentur and the relevant federal state authorities have a mutual obligation to provide information (section 32(2) NABEG).
Members
The Federal Sectoral Planning Advisory Council comprises representatives from the federal state governments, the relevant federal ministries and the Bundesnetzagentur. The Bundesnetzagentur and the Chair of the Council prepare the proposed topics for discussion and necessary information for the meetings. Specialists for certain topics may be invited to meetings as and when required. The Council provides guidance to the Bundesnetzagentur in particular on fundamental federal sectoral planning matters, drawing up the Federal Grid Plan and planning approval principles.
Meetings 2025
14.03.2025 / 10.10.2025