Enexis regularly faces dilemmas in both our daily operations and the development of new policies. We believe it is important to share the most important dilemmas we faced last year. This enables us to provide our stakeholders with insight into the considerations that shaped our decisions in 2025.
Communicate about critical power grids or not?
During the coldest days of winter, the electricity grid in parts of Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel, North Brabant, and Limburg came under pressure during peak periods. On these days, households and businesses use large amounts of electricity simultaneously, for example to heat their homes and charge electric vehicles. In a limited number of critical areas, this can lead to peaks that exceed the capacity of the grid, potentially resulting in prolonged power outages. Because the likelihood of such an event is very low, Enexis faced a dilemma: should we inform customers, relevant authorities, and safety regions, at the risk of causing unnecessary concern? Or should we accept the risk and, in the unlikely event of an outage, treat it as a ‘regular’ power failure? Ultimately, we chose transparency. By communicating proactively, we provided affected customers and municipalities with clear guidance on next steps. We also see this transparency as a responsibility, particularly towards vulnerable customers who depend on a reliable electricity supply. At the same time, we are taking every possible measure to prevent such an outage.
Concentrated or distributed congestion management?
Enexis seeks to prevent overloading of the electricity grid and uses a so-called ‘ladder of measures’ to do so. One of these measures is the application of mandatory congestion management when an overload at a substation is imminent. For example, last year we required large electricity customers in five areas of North Brabant and Overijssel to provide flexible capacity during peak periods, in return for compensation. Under current legislation, Enexis is only permitted to impose such obligations on large companies with a contracted capacity of 1 MW or more. As a result, these companies must relinquish a substantial share of their capacity, placing the burden on a small group of customers. This raises the question of whether the responsibilities of congestion management could be distributed more evenly among all users connected to a substation at risk of overload, including companies with lower contracted capacity and, potentially, consumers. Calculations for a typical substation in our service area show that, under such an approach, a single large customer would no longer need to surrender 64% of its capacity, but only 9%. While this distribution may appear fairer, it would affect a much larger group of users. This raises an important question: are we prepared to take this step? We are currently discussing this dilemma with the Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth.
To invest in heat networks or not?
The Collective Heat Act (Wet collectieve warmte, Wcw) was passed in 2025. This allows Enexis to invest in district heating systems and to enter into additional regional partnerships. We recognise heat as an alternative energy carrier for a future-proof energy system. At the same time, it remains unclear whether investments in district heating networks are currently financially viable, even though heat may be the most appropriate solution in certain areas. This creates a clear dilemma: how do we balance social values such as reducing CO₂ emissions, limiting the need for investment in the electricity grid, and ensuring security of supply, with the requirement to invest in a commercially responsible way? What choices should we make now, and what contributions and guarantees can we expect from policymakers and other stakeholders? While Enexis is preparing for the roll-out of district heating networks, this dilemma will remain relevant in the years ahead.
Increase rates or keep energy costs affordable?
Keeping energy costs affordable for customers is an important priority for Enexis. At the same time, the billions of euros required to expand the electricity grid – as is also evident from the IBO Funding of Electricity Infrastructure report of March 2025 – raise questions about the financial viability of the energy transition. A new regulatory framework from the ACM will take effect in 2027. Although this framework means Enexis will receive income earlier, we remain critical of what we consider to be the low tariffs the ACM intends to apply. We need sufficient income that grows in line with our investments and rising costs in order to make the energy system future-proof. On the other hand, high tariffs put the affordability of the energy system under pressure. Enexis is therefore doing everything it can to enable investments through measures such as efficient business operations and phased implementation. The challenge is to achieve this while remaining financially healthy in the long term, so we can continue to fulfil our crucial role in the energy system.