Dutch demand continues to outstrip supply despite record grid investments

Despite record investments into power grid expansion to accommodate demand, grid operators Alliander, Enexis and Stedin have reported inefficient capacity to prevent increasing network congestion.

According to Alliander, traffic jams will recur on the Dutch electricity network for at least another 10 years.

Alliander, Enexis and Stedin, three distribution system operators in the Netherlands, each stated in their Q4 results record levels of investments into the power grid system in attempts to accommodate demand growth.

Alliander invested more than €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) in 2023 on 2,207 transformers, 2,518km of new medium-voltage and low-voltage cables and 304km (2022: 255km) of gas pipelines.

Enexis spent €1.214 billion ($1.327 billion) on its grid, an increase of 18% from the year prior, installing approximately 1,350km of electricity cables and more stations.

Stedin invested €832 million ($909 million) in the expansion and maintenance of their grids, €120 million ($131 million) more (by over 17%) than the previous year, on 892km of power cables and 266 new transformer substations.

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A call to action

In 2023, states Alliander, it became clear how dire the situation is on the Netherlands‘ electricity grid; the network is under great pressure and has reached capacity multiple times during peak demand periods.

The company cites significant growth in clean tech assets, such as heat pumps, solar panels and e-boilers, as well as the electrification of business processes and installation of charging points for passenger transport and electric trucks, all of which continued in 2023.

This, alongside sustainable construction initiatives – making new and existing homes more sustainable by relying on clean technologies – will add heavy demand to the power grid.

Alliander also cites a shortage of technical staff, lengthy procedures, insufficient available space in the public environment and a lack of system choices that hinder further scaling up; to accelerate further where possible, stricter choices are needed.

Stedin, on the other end, calls on consumers, businesses and governments to jointly reduce the pressure on the power grid and make optimal use of renewable energy sources.

Said Koen Bogers, CEO of Stedin: “Stedin does everything within its capacity to expand the power grid…But that won’t be enough. Particularly in the evening peak, between 16:00 and 21:00, and on sunny spring and summer days, the grid is bursting at the seams.

“This is becoming a growing social problem. We ask consumers and businesses to adjust their behaviour and consider when they need a lot of electricity. For consumers, Stedin is launching an awareness campaign for this in March.

“After all, the moment you use power has become an important consideration. If we change our behaviour, grid operators can free up more capacity, which can then be used to connect businesses on the waiting list, as well as new-build homes and schools.”

In their statement, Enexis added that, despite the surges in demand and subsequent bottlenecks, Dutch businesses can still make use of the grid via flex contracts, interest in which has been increasing.

Through the contract, willing companies shift their production processes to the night, share electricity with a neighbouring company or instal batteries to make their business case possible.

Said Enexis CEO Rutger van der Leeuw: “We are also learning more about this every day and are developing new types of contracts to give customers a perspective for solutions.”