The outgoing cabinet wants to eliminate overload on the power grid. In many parts of the Netherlands, companies no longer have space for new connections and waiting lists have arisen. Minister Jetten says that because the situation is serious, he is considering unorthodox measures, such as requiring companies to buy less electricity at peak times.
The Minister for Climate and Energy says it is good news that companies and households are switching from gas to more sustainable forms of energy at “record speed”. “But it also puts a huge strain on our electrical grid,” he says. “Despite significant investments by grid operators and previous measures, the electricity grid is reaching its limits in more and more places.” There it says “substantially full, probably full or nearly full.”
6600 companies are on the waiting list
Jetten notes that space requirements in the electrical grid are increasing faster than new connections can be created. As a result, in Gelderland, for example, there are currently 1,500 companies on the waiting list. They will only be able to connect after the network is expanded, which will take place between 2027 and 2029. There are currently 6,600 companies on the waiting list throughout the Netherlands.
The minister has various plans to do something for the entire network. For example, he wants approval for a project that will expand the electricity grid to be given much more quickly. This can be done by adding the “significant social interest” tag. A bill prepared for this purpose is currently being discussed in the Council of State and will later be sent to the House of Representatives.
Still space for houses
It is also working on a plan to require consumers, called medium and large consumers, to use less electricity during peak hours, such as between 4pm and 8pm, to avoid power supply problems. This is already encouraged, but it doesn’t work well enough yet.
In a letter to the House of Representatives, Jetten wrote that there was enough space to meet the growing demand from households, but he feared there could be problems in large parts of Gelderland, Utrecht and Flevoland within a few years. The government is doing “everything possible” to prevent grid operators from connecting new homes and charging stations to the electricity grid from 2026.
How the electricity grid is charged is explained in this video:
Source: NOS
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
