Open Grid Europe GmbH Kallenbergstraße 5 D-45141 Essen

Please direct all inquiries to:

Alexander Land Head of Communications and Energy Policy Press Release T +49 201 3642-12620 F +49 201 3642-8-12620

alexander.land 12 September 2014 @open-grid-europe.com www.open-grid-europe.com

Open Grid Europe to re-route pipeline Helmut Roloff Press Officer Kirchwehren, Harenberg and Letter Süd will receive new pipeline Communications and Energy Policy As part of an extensive monitoring and inspection programme, Open Grid T +49 201 3642-12613 F +49 201 3642-8-12613 Europe regularly checks the integrity of its natural gas transmission pipelines to ensure they are fully functional. This is done by trained specialists by air, by car, helmut.roloff on foot and by monitoring the pipeline’s cathodic protection system. @open-grid-europe.com www.open-grid-europe.com One of the oldest natural gas transmission pipelines still in service is the pipeline running from Werne in the Ruhr area to the capital of , Hanover. It has a diameter of 400 millimetres and is operated at a pressure of 25 bar. Safety inspections have identified a number of sections in the area that need to be replaced. In two separate steps, Open Grid Europe will therefore build a new 4.5-kilometre pipeline section and a 450-metre section. Open Grid Europe has applied for planning permission from the Lower- Saxony Office for Mining, Energy and Geology (LBEG) in Clausthal-Zellerfeld. The town of Seelze (Kirchwehren and Harenberg areas) and the city of Hanover (Ahlem area) will be affected by the construction activities.

Once the Office for Mining, Energy and Geology has issued its planning decision, which is due in early September 2014, construction activities can start in mid-September. These construction works will be concluded by mid-2015. The project was previously undergoing an up-front environmental impact assessment to avoid potentially adverse effects on the environment.

With a pipeline network of around 12,000 kilometres in length, Open Grid Europe is ’s leading transmission system operator. 1,650 employees provide safe, customer-focused gas transportation throughout Germany.

Open Grid Europe actively supports the European gas market, working together with European transmission system operators to create the right conditions for international gas transportation and trading. At approx. 700 billion kilowatt hours, the annual exit volume of Open Grid Europe accounts for about two thirds of Germany’s total gas consumption.

For more information about the company, go to www.open-grid-europe.com.