We are working hard to expand our electricity grid. In 2024, we invested more than in 2023, which was already a record year. Despite this, there are still waiting lists for large business customers who want (additional) capacity in congested areas. To address this, we have several measures in place to encourage the most efficient use of our network.
Electricity demand and supply continue to rise sharply. There are more and more electric cars, buses and trucks. Households are opting en masse for electric cooking and heat pumps, and factories are switching to electricity to power their production processes. At the same time, the number of solar and wind farms is growing, and homeowners and businesses are covering their roofs with solar panels. As a result, the electricity grid is under increasing strain, leading to congestion and waiting lists. This means that access to the grid can no longer be taken for granted, and outages are becoming more frequent due to the pressure on the grid.
More and more feed-in
More and more businesses and households are generating their own energy and feeding some of it back into the grid. The number of connections feeding back solar and wind energy rose 10% to 1,185,807 connections. Installed renewable capacity (the maximum capacity of all renewable energy sources) increased by 10% in our regions. The share of green gas fed back by customers increased by 19%.
Waiting lists persist
In many places, there is not enough grid capacity to transmit electricity. As a result, large business customers who want (additional) capacity for feed-in or consumption end up on a waiting list. We believe there will be waiting lists for another 5 to 10 years. We are aware that this is likely to have a significant impact. Businesses will find it challenging to grow or become sustainable.
Only businesses with a suitable connection or have applied for a new connection or extension will be placed on the waiting list for their electricity needs. After all, electricity can only be used if a customer has the necessary connection to the grid. Power that becomes available is offered in the order of the waiting list, following the new prioritisation framework.
Households are also increasingly affected by grid congestion. Their demand for electricity is skyrocketing, while the amount of electricity generated by solar panels is also increasing. As a result, pressure on the grid in residential areas is rising sharply, and households are experiencing voltage problems, such as solar panel inverters failing.
Following in the footsteps of large businesses, local households and small businesses may also experience longer waiting times for new connections or upgrades. More and more small consumption demands now require grid expansion. However, expanding new power plants, cables and substations takes time, so customers may have to wait longer. The length of these waiting times depends on location, space and the availability of staff and materials.
We are doing everything we can to help customers quickly and keep them well informed. In early 2025, we launched an online tool to help customers with small connections understand what congestion means for them.
Measures to promote flexibility
Through congestion management, we encourage large business customers to be flexible in the way they consume or feed in electricity, either voluntarily or, in some cases, mandatorily. We contractually agree with them to adjust electricity use by default or on demand during congestion peaks to reduce peaks and avoid overloading. During off-peak hours, these so-called flex contracts do allow customers to consume or feed in electricity.
Social prioritisation
The social prioritisation framework has been in effect since 1 October 2024. Businesses and institutions with a societal function are entitled to a higher position on the waiting list in congestion areas when capacity becomes available. ACM has defined the sectors eligible for priority, dividing them into three categories:
Congestion relievers: these customers contribute additional capacity to the grid once connected. This allows other customers to connect or expand.
Security: think fire brigade, police, judiciary, prisons, water authorities and acute health care.
Essential services: These include public water supply, education, heating and housing.
Requests not falling into these three categories will not be prioritised and may have to wait longer.
Expanding our grid
Once again, more investments
The main solution to grid congestion is to expand the grid. So we are working hard on this. By 2024, we will have added 1,920 megawatts of grid capacity (including replacement and congestion management). We spent €1,486 million on expanding and maintaining our networks, €272 million more than in 2023 and €36 million more than planned. This increase is a direct result of the energy transition.
In our investment plan, we have stated that from 2024 to 2026, we will invest €3 billion in the expansion of our grids and €1.5 billion in the maintenance and management of the existing infrastructure. The plan also shows where we will work over the next 10 years. We have gathered input from, among others, provinces, municipalities and market players. We have also included investments proposed by the provinces (through the so-called pMIEKs). The plan makes it clear that there is a significant ‘feasibility gap’ until 2026. This is the gap between market demand, available materials and implementation capacity.
Faster implementation with neighbourhood approach
In the coming years, we will increase the number of high-voltage and medium-voltage substations. To speed up construction, we are focusing on standardisation and prefabrication. We will also install thousands of new transformers in residential areas, upgrade thousands of existing transformers and lay 16,000 kilometres of heavy-duty cable. This means 1 in 3 streets will have to be dug up over the next 10 years.
We are approaching this work neighbourhood by neighbourhood. This means that contractors are responsible for their own planning, preparation and execution. Clear communication is essential, so we organise meetings with local people to listen to their concerns and inform them of potential disruption. Ensuring sufficient space is allocated, permits are obtained and traffic plans are finalised in good time is also crucial. Above all, safety is our priority, and we aim to make the neighbourhood approach as smooth and low-impact as possible.
Reliable energy supply
It will be business as usual throughout the refurbishment. We are committed to maintaining the reliability and safety of our network. This is possible due to the investment in our grids and the use of innovative systems such as Distribution Automation Lighting (DALI). Today, 65% of our substations are equipped with a DALI box. This system allows us to detect faults quickly so our colleagues can carry out repairs more efficiently. At the same time, this increase shows that we are reaching the limits of our networks and deliberately seeking them out, which increases the number of outages.
In 2024, the average gas supply interruption lasted 56 seconds, a decrease of 59% compared to 2023 (137 seconds). This improvement is mainly due to a limited number of significant outages that exceed 25,000 consumer minutes. While the gas network remains highly reliable, the annual duration of outages can vary significantly.
Study on the impact of (extreme) cold on electricity consumption
Enexis guarantees the availability of electricity down to -13 degrees Celsius. The colder it gets, the more electricity is needed for electric heat sources. As there are more and more of them, it is important to know how they affect the electricity grid and where problems can arise. After digitally analysing 22,000 power stations, we have identified 79 locations where we expect more than 120% of a transformer's capacity to be used at -13 degrees. After further research, we will decide which stations, if any, need to be upgraded. In 2025, we will repeat the study using the latest data.
Outages due to high water levels
In the winter of 2023-2024, we recorded a notable increase in medium-voltage failures in joints. Often, these failures result from grid overload or excavation damage, but this was not the case here. Data analysis revealed a correlation between the number of outages and high groundwater levels due to heavy rainfall, particularly in the south of the country. As a result, the joints were flooded. Although they are designed to be watertight, small cracks can develop over time due to ageing, ground settlement or undetected damage to the casing during excavation work. This appears to explain the increase in outages. This is important information for future decision-making and fault prevention in our electricity grid. Thanks to the data research, we now understand the failures better and can take targeted action to improve the maintenance and protection of cable joints.
Supplier strategy and material chain
The energy transition requires many materials, such as cables, joints, substations and transformers. We procured 30 power transformers and 6,700 kilometres of cable in 2024, and we increased the number of cable suppliers from 3 to 8 through a European tender. The global market for these components is characterised by high demand, which often exceeds available production capacity. To respond to this situation, Enexis has opted for strategic partnerships with key suppliers, in which we fix our required volumes several quarters in advance. This entails risks, as our execution is not always predictable due to factors such as lengthy permit approvals or a shortage of technical personnel. To mitigate this, we expanded our logistics capacity in 2024 through in-house and flexible external storage locations, increasing our inventory from €150 million to €168 million in 2024.
Making more efficient use of the grid
In addition to expanding the grid to provide more transmission capacity, we can also use existing capacity better. The grid is not always at full capacity. If we can reduce the peaks and fill in the troughs, more customers can use the grid. With new types of contracts, we encourage customers to adapt their energy consumption to the available grid capacity.
Alternative transmission rights with BlokStroom
BlokStroom allows customers to use additional electricity outside peak hours. This type of contract works with fixed blocks of time, such as overnight from midnight to 6:00 AM. This is an ideal solution for some customers. For example, they can charge electric trucks overnight so that they are fully operational in the morning. In 2024, we introduced BlokStroom to a limited number of customers, resulting in around 40 contracts. This pilot provided valuable insights for the further development and rollout of alternative transmission rights. We expect to offer BlokStroom on a limited basis in 2025 in locations where nighttime transmission capacity is available.
Group transmission agreement ready for the market
A group transmission agreement (GTA) is a contract whereby a group of companies share an agreed transmission capacity. By coordinating energy production, consumption and storage, these companies can use more capacity than if they each had individual transmission capacity. This also makes investing in technologies such as charging points, solar panels or batteries more attractive, as consumption and costs are shared. The GTA is one of the building blocks of an energy hub. Enexis is involved in pilot projects with energy hubs at several locations. The insights gained from these pilots have been used to work with other grid operators to enable group transmission rights in legislation and regulations. We expect to gradually offer the GTA to the market on a small scale starting in 2025.
Flex contract creates space on the grid
We use congestion management to reduce peaks on the grid and create space to connect new customers in the area. To do this, we sign flex contracts with high-volume consumers: they reduce the peak load at times of high demand. It is essential that we know when to expect these peaks. We use our own artificial intelligence (AI) to forecast the expected load on our grid on a daily basis. This task is not easy, but it is crucial for efficient congestion management. In 2024, we signed our largest flex contract to date with the Sappi paper mill in Zuid-Limburg. As part of an experiment with Fastned, the fast-charging station voluntarily gave up some of its power at fixed times, mainly during morning and evening peaks, without affecting customers. In return, Fastned requested flexible extra capacity from Enexis at times when it could.
Raising awareness of flexible energy use
Flexible energy use is essential for an affordable and reliable energy system. After all, it creates more space in the grid. Technology has a key role to play in intelligently managing high-volume consumers. At the same time, we need to change our behaviour. Solutions such as flex contracts encourage this.
In 2024, we also launched a communication campaign for the business market with the slogan ‘My power grid, your power grid’. The aim is to make customers aware that the grid belongs to all of us and that everyone can contribute to the solution. For consumers, we have launched the ‘Full of energy’ campaign.
Reducing feed-in congestion through open bidding
In areas where large amounts of solar and wind energy are fed back into the grid, congestion problems can occur. In April 2024, Enexis resolved feed-in congestion for the first time through open bidding on the GOPACS platform.
This process involves three parties: the grid operator facing the congestion, a party within the congestion area willing to help, and a third party outside the congestion area taking countermeasures. As these actions must not disrupt the national balance of the electricity grid, a reduction in solar production is paired with an increase in electricity production outside the congestion area.
Parties within the congestion area can submit their bids, setting the price at which they are willing to help resolve the congestion (open bidding), facilitated by GOPACS. This approach not only provides a solution to the current congestion problem but also strengthens the reliability and affordability of our network for our customers.
First congestion management framework agreement
Last year, Enexis signed its first contract with a congestion service provider. This contract with Next Kraftwerke is the first framework agreement for congestion management and provides immediate access to up to 63 MW in our service area. This step demonstrates how framework contracts can support the large-scale rollout of flexibility. In addition to tailor-made agreements with individual customers, such a framework contract offers the opportunity to make faster progress. The contract with Next Kraftwerke is the first example of this. It focuses on large solar farms.
Better tracking of grid losses, fairer cost distribution
Since 1 January 2024, we have been calculating our grid losses differently. As a result, the cost of grid losses can now be shared more fairly between grid operators and market players.
When electricity is transmitted, unavoidable energy losses occur in cables and transformers due to resistance and heat generation. Any energy that does not reach the customer – including energy fraud and administrative errors – is grid loss. We have to buy this grid loss. The total grid loss is about the same as the total electricity consumption of the national railway operator, the NS.
Since last year, we have been keeping better track of our grid losses. As part of Allocation 2.0, we divide the grid loss into three parts: the energy used by the grid itself, the loss during transmission and the consumption that nobody pays for (mainly energy fraud). We have also made two other improvements. On days when there is a lot of sun and wind, we ensure the grid loss calculation reflects this. This reduces the imbalance and makes the energy market work a little better. We are also forecasting grid losses on a daily basis now instead of annually. This significantly improves the accuracy of our calculations.
These adjustments do not change the exchange of information between market players, but they make calculating the remaining grid loss much more accurate.