Image courtesy Alliander
To meet the growing electricity demand, Dutch regional grid company Alliander has awarded a tender of €422 million ($489.5 million) to renew and expand the capacity of its electricity stations on the medium-voltage network.
Increasing demand continues to be a headache for grid operators in the Netherlands. To meet it and resolve long connection delays, operator Liander has been working on renewing and expanding electricity stations at the medium-voltage level.
To this end, Liander’s parent company, Alliander, has issued a tender to the tune of €422 million, awarded to three parties, divided across three regions:
- In the west, the tender has been awarded to JR Infra & APK Rasenberg VOF and DMissi Electro BV.
- In the north, it has been awarded to DMissi Electro BV and Van Gelder.
- In the south-east, it has been awarded to JR Infra & APK Rasenberg and Van Gelder.
The contract has a term of six years, with the possibility of two one-year extensions.
Execution will start around mid-August.
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The Dutch capacity problem
In the Netherlands, grid congestion and capacity have long been a pressing problem, with grid operators such as Liander and TenneT warning of wait times of up to 10 years for businesses seeking new connections or expansions.
However, the Netherlands’ National Energy System Plan aims for electricity supply to grow fourfold by 2050.
According to the IEA, to meet these targets, the Netherlands will need to address grid constraints to unlock projects awaiting grid connection and attract further investment.
To do so, converting or replacing power stations will be crucial to prepare the electricity grid. This is where such long-term contracts, as issued by Alliander, come in, providing stability and encouraging contractors to train and deploy new capacity.
Through their cables and pipes, over three million Dutch households and companies are supplied by Liander with electricity, gas and heating. The company operates a 90,000km electricity grid and a 40,000km gas network.
