50Hertz operates the transmission grid in northern and eastern Germany, which it expands as needed for the energy transition. Our extra high voltage grid has an electrical circuit length of about 10,490 kilometres, that is the distance between Berlin and Rio de Janeiro. The 50Hertz grid area covers the states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, as well as the city states of Berlin and Hamburg. Within these regions, 50Hertz ensures grid and system stability; about 1,300 employees ensure that about 18 million people are supplied with electricity around the clock. 50Hertz is a forerunner in the field of secure integration of renewable energy: in our grid area, more than 60 percent of the electricity consumed is already generated from renewable sources, and it is constantly growing. The shareholders of 50Hertz are the Belgian transmission system operator Elia (80%) and the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (20%). As a European transmission system operator, 50Hertz is part of the Elia Group and a member of the European association ENTSO-E.