Vattenfall subsidiary Stromnetz Berlin has lost the grid concession rights to the German city of Berlin.
Municipal energy company Berlin Energie has been awarded the rights, which Vattenfall through Stromnetz and previously Bewag had held for over 20 years.
Vattenfall president and chief executive Magnus Hall said: “We have long and successfully been running the electricity grid in Berlin and are of course disappointed with the decision of the city.
“We have proven that we have experience and competence to operate the grid efficiently and we had hoped to continue either as today or in a partnership with the City of Berlin.”
He added that Berlin and Germany will continue to be an important location and market for the company.
“Overall, we see a very positive development in Germany with substantial customer growth to approximately 3.6 million electricity and gas customers in the German market.
“We want to continue to contribute to the German energy transition and see growth opportunities in for example decentralised energy solutions, renewable electricity and heat production, and the electrification of the transport sector.”
The Berlin grid concession includes a 35,000km distribution network and more than 2.3 million customers.
Vattenfall distribution senior vice president Annika Viklund said: “We have continuously developed and invested in the electricity grid of Berlin to meet the future challenges of the German energy transition.
“As a certificate on this, we were recently awarded the highest possible ‘super-efficiency’ grading by the German Federal Network Agency.
“We therefore regret the decision by the City of Berlin and will analyse the selection statement in advance of a decision about our further course of action.”
Stromnetz Berlin has about 1200 employees.