In electricity market data, we often differentiate between gross and net figures – when looking at electricity generation, for example.
Unlike gross Electricity generation, net Electricity generation does not include network losses or the electricity required by the generation units themselves. One cause of network losses is that power lines get hot when electricity flows through them. The amount of electricity that actually arrives at the consumer is therefore less than the amount generated by the plant. The internal requirements are the amount of electricity that the generating installation needs for its own operation, that is for air conditioning, lighting in power plants, running coal mills in coal-fired power plants (to grind up hard coal or lignite) and so on. Gross figures include these amounts, while net figures do not.

The actual generation shown on SMARD is the net Electricity generation and is electricity fed into the general supply network. It does not include electricity generated in the Deutsche Bahn network or within industrial networks and closed distribution networks. Some large companies run their own generating installations on their sites and use the electricity produced themselves in their operations. If they do not feed it into the general supply network, it is not included in the actual generation data on SMARD.

Electricity consumption figures can be gross or net as well. Gross electricity consumption includes losses occurring while electricity is transported and the amount of electricity consumed by power plants themselves. If you subtract the network losses and the power plants' internal consumption from the gross consumption, you are left with the net consumption.
The Electricity consumption shown on SMARD is the amount of electricity taken from the grid, which is why it is also known as the "grid load". This is the net generation minus export transmission capacity, plus import transmission capacity and minus the feed-in capacity from hydro pumped storage power stations.