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Jelmer Jansma
reporter Nieuwsuur
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Jelmer Jansma
reporter Nieuwsuur
Companies, but also schools and charging stations, often have to wait a long time for a power connection. Sometimes even for years. Network operators will soon be able to prioritize specific projects, but this is taking too long for a growing number of parties: they want to enforce priority through the courts.
From inquiry News hour Among regional grid operators, it appears that the number of lawsuits over a large-user connection has roughly doubled in three years: from 9 cases in 2021 to 17 last year.
Panic
Companies and institutions have been going to court if the grid operator exceeds the connection period due to, for example, a lack of manpower. But applicants are now also increasingly starting a case when they are told by grid operators that there is no space on the grid. For example, a new factory hall, a new school building or community center.
In practice, the chance of success for these types of cases appears to be small. “If there is no transport capacity, a lawsuit will not change that much,” says the Enexis spokesperson.
Recent research by grid operator Enexis shows that although companies are familiar with grid congestion, the vast majority think it will not affect them. “Once the investments have been made and the staff has been hired, but there is no power, panic arises. And then everything is tried,” Enexis sees.
The power grid is overcrowded:
Nieuwsuur Heavy connections are not possible for the time being in almost all of the Netherlands
Trade association Netbeheer Nederland confirms the trend. Not only through lawsuits: aldermen or interest groups such as VNO-NCW are also increasingly knocking directly to see whether, just this once, something cannot be arranged.
In exceptional cases, so-called ‘grid congestion management’ offers a solution: for example, a factory can run the machines at night so that power is released during the day for a new school building.
Gert-Jan ter Hoor from Borne has now also pinned his hopes on that. His construction company wants to realize the new, completely gas-free branch of the Jan Ligthartschool in the Drenthe village. “We already submitted the application for a connection before we started the design.” But if a creative solution is not found, the school will have to join the other companies and institutions that are waiting for a connection. “According to the latest report, we should expect one to three years,” says Ter Hoor.
Prioritize
Unless a change in regulations offers a solution. Grid operators now process power connections according to the miller’s principle: first come, first served. That approach worked fine as long as there was enough space on the power grid. But already during the 2021 formation interviews shouted grid operators take up the policy of coming up with rules to prioritize projects based on their social value.
More than three years later, they seem to be being heard. Supervisory Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) is working on ‘a prioritization framework’ that should see the light of day in April. That turns out to be a tricky issue. After all, the choice between a hotel and a hospital still seems easy, but choosing between a school or a doctor’s office is becoming more difficult.
Referee
According to energy expert Paul Giesbertz – who has worked for both the regulator and grid operators in the past – there is a risk of disappointment here. “Prioritization only offers a solution where transport capacity is also available. And even then, for everyone you favor, you put someone else behind.”
While the stakes are high. Giesbertz points out the almost eighty responses on the draft framework that the ACM put online last year. From municipalities to business umbrella organizations and hospitals: almost everyone endorses the importance of prioritizing, and almost everyone believes that their own supporters should be given a higher priority.
Neither the ACM nor the network operators seem to have any interest in having to play referee themselves. The supervisor is late News hour only know how to set the framework. In practice, the choice is up to the network operators. They in turn emphasize that they are only implementers and that the choices really have to be made by (local) politicians.
Giesbertz understands this: “Even with a priority list, there is a chance that a party that misses the mark will still try to get their case in court.”
Ultimately, the real solution to grid congestion is expanding the power grid. This will cost tens of billions of euros in investments. And that is one that will take a long time, says Giesbertz. “A matter of money and manpower, of which there is also a shortage. We will still have these problems in the next ten years, whether we prioritize or not.”
2024-03-17 08:00:01
#Number #lawsuits #power #connection #doubles
