Network operators and outgoing Minister Rob Jetten (Energy and Climate) warn about this. Without measures, the capacity on the power network will be fully in use in 2026 in the provinces of Utrecht, Flevoland and Gelderland.
Manon van Beek, CEO of grid operator TenneT, speaks about a ‘new, challenging phase’ for the energy transition. She points to the ‘super-fast growth’ of solar panels, heat pumps and charging stations in households, among other things. “It is happening much faster than we as grid operators had anticipated.”
Power outages threaten
In the years 2026 to 2029, this could lead to power outages at peak times, Minister Jetten wrote to the House of Representatives. To prevent this, grid operators should temporarily disconnect companies from electricity.
Or put small users (households and small businesses) who want a new connection to the network on a waiting list. There are already waiting lists for connections in large parts of the country, but these are for large companies and other large consumers of electricity.
To prevent this scenario, Jetten is introducing a number of measures. In this way, he wants to ensure that the procedures needed to strengthen the electricity network take less time. By labeling this construction work as ‘important social interest’, the process of arranging a permit can possibly be shortened by 1.5 years.
Coordinate power consumption
He also wants to make it possible for companies to coordinate their power consumption. Starting next year, companies will be allowed to have their space on the power grid used by another company if they are not using the space themselves.
Another solution is to have grid operators conclude contracts with major consumers. They then promise to stop the machines for a while or to run less quickly during peak times – between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Jetten wants to encourage this by paying large consumers if they use less electricity during peak times. He wants to do this by having companies make an offer to their grid operator. It concerns an offer with an amount for the amount of electricity that they will not use.
Bidding against each other
The idea is that if more companies submit such an offer, the grid operator can choose the cheapest offer. To prevent companies from peddling consumption that is much higher than what they really need – and therefore making a profit – companies that want to participate must first provide insight into which part of their energy contract is flexible.
To prevent companies from secretly making price agreements about this and thus driving up prices, the regulator, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), is monitoring this. He previously noted that companies and grid operators still find it difficult to find each other.
2023-10-18 12:01:13
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