Westnetz customer service crisis deepens as regulator flags systemic IT failures
Bundesnetzagentur warns Westnetz customer service crisis stems from a troubled SAP-led IT migration, leaving some suppliers unpaid and meter processes delayed.
Regulator escalates concerns over Westnetz customer service crisis
Klaus Müller, president of the Bundesnetzagentur, has sharply flagged growing structural problems at Westnetz in a letter to a Bundestag member, saying the company’s difficulties go beyond isolated payment delays. The regulator links the troubles to a far-reaching IT system change and reports a notable rise in complaints about multiple operational areas.
The agency says the slow-moving migration has affected not only feed-in tariff payments but also core grid operations, prompting intensified oversight and discussions with the network operator. The letter confirms that a formal procedure against Westnetz has been running for more than a year and that recent crisis talks between company and regulator representatives have taken place.
Delayed payments, meter swaps and market communication hit customers
The most visible impact for consumers and small businesses has been late or missing payments owed to operators of distributed generation, including household photovoltaic owners. Müller’s office reports that the migration has coincided with an uptick in problems tied to meter changes and to market communication processes that underpin billing and grid services.
Complaints to the regulator have risen sharply, the letter says, and many affected households describe the process of resolving disputes as lengthy and frustrating. The cumulative effect is a growing backlog of cases that Westnetz is still working to clear.
Bundesnetzagentur presses Westnetz while avoiding immediate penalties
The Bundesnetzagentur states it takes the situation “very seriously” and is using available powers to enforce compliance with statutory duties. While Müller’s communication stops short of announcing new sanctions, it signals heightened scrutiny and an expectation that Westnetz address systemic failings promptly.
Regulatory officials emphasize that consumers should not be left to bear the administrative burden of resolving recurring errors and that persistent delays are increasingly unacceptable. The agency’s involvement underscores the potential for further regulatory measures should improvements not materialize.
Westnetz attributes failures to SAP-led migration and energy transition pressures
Westnetz executives say the company embarked on a major IT migration in 2024 with SAP, aiming to modernize processes across network connection, metering and billing and to serve as a pilot within the wider E.ON group. Management frames the rollout as a response to the end of maintenance for the legacy system and to rapidly evolving technical and regulatory demands created by the energy transition.
Company officials point to sharp increases in new connection requests for small-scale generation as a key driver of complexity: roughly 30,000 connection inquiries in 2021 rose to about 70,000 in 2022 and topped 115,000 in 2023. The proliferation of photovoltaic systems, batteries, electric-vehicle chargers and smart devices has multiplied configuration permutations and placed new demands on IT workflows.
New customer chief mobilizes crisis team and manual workarounds
Gudrun Alt, appointed recently as head of customer operations, has established an internal “Steuerungsstab” crisis team to prioritize case handling and unlock company-wide resources. Alt says the taskforce includes a three-digit number of staffers — from IT and process experts to data managers and billing specialists — focusing on manually correcting migrated data where automation still fails.
Westnetz reports that around 20,000 individual problems have already been resolved, but acknowledges that many cases continue to require manual intervention before automated systems can process them reliably. Management stresses that only a minority of the roughly six million customers are affected, with most issues concentrated among prosumers, feed-in operators and households with advanced equipment.
Regulator warns citizens feel increasingly helpless as backlog endures
The Bundesnetzagentur’s letter warns that citizens “feel increasingly helpless” when individual disputes drag on and that it often takes an excessive amount of time to reach durable solutions. The regulator says it is tracking whether Westnetz’s remedial steps are sufficient and is prepared to use enforcement tools if statutory obligations are not met.
Officials note the migration remains a “moving target”: new complaints and regulatory requirements continue to emerge as the IT transition proceeds. For now, the agency is engaging in regular talks with Westnetz while monitoring case resolution rates and customer outcomes.
Westnetz faces the dual challenge of stabilizing a complex technical migration while restoring public trust among customers and partners who expect timely payments and reliable grid services. With the regulator closely watching performance metrics and a crisis taskforce in place, the coming months will be critical to determining whether the operator can turn the transition into a sustainable improvement rather than a prolonged operational setback.
