In 2024 Enexis expanded grid capacity significantly, maintained high reliability, signed numerous flexible contracts with large business customers, and welcomed many new colleagues to our team. These are great achievements – but they are not enough. The energy transition continues to place growing demands on us, and our customers still are not seeing the full effect of our efforts.
Once again, demand for electricity from businesses and households is growing faster than we can build. The same was true in 2023. Our waiting lists are getting longer, not shorter. That is why we have refined our strategy to accelerate the expansion and upgrading of our electricity grid. The energy transition also calls for a broader role: moving from a grid operator with a limited remit to an organisation that actively collaborates with partners to design and build a future-proof energy system.
As a grid operator, we advise partners – such as the Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth, provinces, municipalities and the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) – on building a future-proof energy system. We help them understand the impact of their decisions. We also bring important issues to the table, such as how, in addition to green energy, sustainable molecules and collective heating are also crucial to the energy transition. Working with these different stakeholders is improving all the time. Our focus remains on achieving a CO₂-free and independent energy system by 2050. Naturally, interests sometimes clash – shaping the energy transition is a complex process. But Enexis, the municipalities and the provinces all benefit from this partnership, which is informed in part by the insights of neighbouring regions and provinces.
Persistent bottlenecks
Our biggest challenge in 2024 and the years to come is to build, build, build. In 2024, as planned we invested €1.5 billion in our largest-ever work package to strengthen and expand our grid. To speed things up, we are pushing ourselves to the limit to tackle persistent bottlenecks, such as the shortage of technical employees. Although we recruited more technical staff than expected last year, we still face a shortage. That is why we are doing everything possible to attract and retain talent, for example with good working conditions, development opportunities and a pleasant working environment..
The acquisition of the land and permits needed to expand and strengthen our network is also moving too slowly. We will need significantly more land in the coming years, but zoning and permit procedures continue to cause delays. To address this problem, we are working closely with municipalities and provinces. We have also raised these concerns with the government in The Hague.
Reaping the rewards
We are excited about the seeds we planted earlier that bore fruit in 2024. One example is the neighbourhood approach. After the first experiences with the neighbourhood approach in 2023, we also expanded the Proactive Investments in Low-Voltage (PILV) project, in which we upgraded the low-voltage grids in a neighbourhood all at once. We are working closely with municipalities and contractors, to whom we are outsourcing more and more of the work. Together, we are building neighbourhood substations to meet the growing demand for electricity.
In 2025, we will execute the neighbourhood approach more widely, implementing more ideas for outsourcing large work packages and a wider range of flexible solutions. We are constantly exploring and developing new solutions to existing problems. For example, we are enthusiastic about the development of the bending tool that allows us to bend increasingly thicker cables more easily: good for the ergonomics and well-being of the technicians and it can speed up the work. Another example is the new contract forms for companies to facilitate flexible energy consumption.
The use of Artificial Intelligence enables us to do our work more effectively and efficiently. For example, with AI we detect unsafe situations in the grid and we have a better understanding of what the condition of our assets is. We educate Enexis employees as best we can about the opportunities and responsible use of AI.
Socially significant requests
How much do our customers notice of all the work we do? Sadly, not enough. The reality is that we cannot resolve the grid shortage in the short term. Our work takes time, and TenneT also needs to expand the high-voltage grid. For now, we do not have enough grid capacity to eliminate the waiting lists. In the near future, households may also feel this impact – for example, when upgrading their connection for a heat pump or charging station. We understand how frustrating this can be. Transparency is a top priority for us, as it is for other grid operators. That is why we provide insight into local grid congestion through the capacity map (new window).
We are therefore pleased that, since 2024, two key tools have been helping us prioritise socially relevant organisations on the waiting list. The ACM prioritisation framework will allow us to prioritise schools, hospitals and other social projects. We will use the pMIEK (Provincial Multi-Year Program for Infrastructure, Energy and Climate) and the provincial energy strategies to clarify which significant projects should come first. These priorities are determined in collaboration with the provinces.
Data use and behavioural change
Expanding the electricity grid is a massive undertaking and one of the most extensive upgrades the Netherlands has seen in decades. But more is needed. Businesses and households must also use energy more efficiently to help ease grid shortages. We are installing sensors that provide real-time insights into grid capacity. This data makes it possible to manage energy consumption better and use the grid more efficiently: we want to help our customers get started and give them control over their energy bills. Think of the matrix signs on the motorway that prevent traffic jams, or the Van A naar Beter (‘From A to Better’) app that helps travelers navigate obstacles. While data-driven solutions hold great promise, they also come with cybersecurity risks, which we address with utmost care.
Another way to optimise grid capacity is through flexible contracts. To make better use of the grid, we urgently need the cooperation of high-volume electricity consumers. In 2024, we gained valuable experience with BlokStroom, the Capacity Limitation Contract and the Group Transmission Agreement. Until now, these ‘flex’ contracts have been tailored to individual cases, but we are now standardising them to streamline the process. By clarifying the benefits of flex contracts, we aim to encourage more large consumers to adopt them in 2025 – helping both themselves and other customers by making the most of the available grid capacity. In 2025, we will also prepare our IT systems to handle a growing number of flex contracts.
Safety and outages
To maximise capacity, we are pushing our network to its limits. This allows us to help as many customers as possible to get a (stronger) connection, but it also puts increasing strain on our assets. Unfortunately, this means more outages are inevitable. Our network is reliable 99.99% of the time. However, in 2024 we saw the number of downtime minutes increase to 22,5 minutes, compared to 17.9 minutes in 2023, partly due to the higher load on our grids. Despite this, reliability remains exceptionally high. We know that reliability is crucial to the day-to-day running of our society, and maintaining a high level of reliability is a top priority.
Safety is our highest priority – not just for our employees but also for bystanders and residents. Every accident is one too many. By the end of 2024, we reached level 4 on the safety culture ladder for our business unit Operations, a milestone we are proud of. At the same time, we are concerned. Serious incidents increased in 2024, and our LTIF safety score declined to 1.1, compared to 0.6 in 2023. While Enexis’ score remains close to target, contractor safety performance exceeded the target. So we cannot rest on our laurels but continue to improve safety, for ourselves and our contractors: we want to offer everyone a safe working environment. Not only physically but also socially and in the field of cybersecurity.
Financing and affordability
Enexis is financially healthy, but is structurally cash flow negative due to the growing investment task. Last year we spent approximately €1.5 million more per day on the energy transition than we received through the rates. Just as in recent years and expected in the coming years. This puts pressure on our financial position. In order to continue investing, we successfully issued our fourth green bond last year. This has once again enabled us to attract a broad group of sustainable investors. We monitor our financial stability and creditworthiness as best as possible. We appreciate the support we receive from our shareholders. This is important to be able to continue to borrow sufficient money for our investments.
In 2024 we achieved a net profit of €254 million. Compared to 2023, this means an increase in profit of €182 million. This increase is mainly the result of increased turnover due to rate increases. In 2024, the rates that Enexis charges its customers are better in balance with costs than in 2023.
We are committed to promoting socially optimal choices, such as the use of green gas, to avoid unnecessary investment in our electricity network. We are also keeping our own costs as low as possible, for example through digitalisation. We are also in discussions with ACM about the regulatory framework that determines how much we can invest to fulfil our role correctly. Rising energy tariffs could put public support for the energy transition at risk. Tariffs increased in 2024 and will rise again in 2025. The affordability of the energy transition is a major concern for us. That is why, as a sector, we have submitted a proposal to ACM for a new tariff model that encourages customers to use the grid as much as possible when capacity is most available.
Sustainability Statement
In this annual report, Enexis has included Sustainability Statements in accordance with the CSRD guidelines for the first time. The realization was an intensive and organization-wide project with which we anticipate the implementation of the CSRD in Dutch legislation and regulations. We consciously chose that. The Sustainability Statement helps the organization to gain insight into its sustainable impact and to improve it in the future. It also helps Enexis to define its sustainability goals more clearly and to report transparently on their realization in the future. We also expect the statements to support our stakeholders in making well-considered decisions. This year we are taking a first big step, and we want to further improve the quality and content in the coming years.
Keep building
Finally, an optimistic look ahead. We know that major steps are still needed, and we are continuously looking for ways to do it better, smarter and faster. A constructive relationship with our shareholders and participation is of great value, as is cooperation with other grid operators and Netbeheer Nederland. Only by working together can we realize a future-proof energy system.
We want to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to all our colleagues and partners who bring so much energy and passion to their work every day. Their efforts make a real difference. If you see our vans on the road or our teams at work, know that we are building toward a future-proof, affordable and reliable energy system for everyone.
Executive Board Enexis Holding N.V.
Rutger van der Leeuw
Mariëlle Vogt
Han Slootweg
Jeroen Sanders