At the presentation of the annual figures of parent company Alliander, CEO Maarten Otto issued a warning to consumers: the electricity network of network manager Liander is reaching the limits of growth. This applies to companies and now also to consumers.
Due to the frequent installation of solar panels, heat pumps and charging stations for electric cars, consumers have to take longer waiting times for grid reinforcement into account. In 2022, Liander received more than 43,000 requests from consumers for a heavier electricity connection.
Consumers are also less able to feed solar power back to the power grid on sunny days. At those times, consumers themselves should use more generated solar power and run the washing machine, dishwasher and dryer an extra time.
According to Liander, consumers must take into account the following in the coming years:
Longer waiting times for a new connection or expansion of your meter cupboard for sustainability measures such as the installation of solar panels, heat pump or charging station Solar power can no longer be returned to the power network on days when there is a lot of supply You may experience flashing lighting more often In extreme cases you may experience power outages
European leader
Solar panels are installed on the roof of 760,000 homes and small businesses that are affiliated with Liander. The Netherlands is a European leader when it comes to the number of solar panels per inhabitant. In 2022, 13.8 percent of our electricity consumption will be generated by solar power.
In addition, one million heat pumps have now been installed in the Netherlands and the number of electric cars has tripled in two and a half years.
Our electricity network is built to bring power to businesses and homes. In the meantime, however, so much power is being demanded and supplied back that a real traffic jam is created, also known as grid congestion. Current power cables are too thin for this increase in power supply and demand.
Investment of 5 billion
That is why Alliander wants to invest around 5 billion euros in the low-voltage network, the power supply in residential areas, by 2030. In 2022, 1.2 billion euros have already been invested in the expansion of the gas and electricity grid.
One in three streets in Liander’s service area must be opened for grid reinforcement and 20,000 new transformer stations will be built in residential areas.
Maarten Otto, CEO of Alliander says: “In many places, the electricity grid in residential areas is not yet designed for the speed at which consumers are making their homes more sustainable. This means that in the near future, unfortunately, we will temporarily not be able to directly help all consumers and companies with a small-scale consumption connection. when the grid fills up in the district.”
Energy bill of few euros per year
Not being able to feed back solar power is a problem for Lex van den Hondel. He bought a house in Hoofddorp three years ago and invested heavily in sustainability. His gas-free home uses about 6,000 kWh of electricity on an annual basis, but he pays at most a few euros per year on his energy bill.
In the summer, Lex generates much more electricity than it uses itself. This power is now fully returned to the power network and he can purchase it free of charge in the winter months if his solar panels yield less (netting). This will change as soon as it can no longer always feed back its solar power.
‘Will cost a lot of money’
“If we can no longer supply back, it will cost us an enormous amount of money. If Liander switches off the solar panels for a while, it is not so bad, but if it concerns a longer period, then our investment has been a waste of money,” says Van den Hondel.
“In the summer we throw away solar power and in the winter we have to buy expensive electricity. That is very detrimental to our energy bill. We are well above the price ceiling of 2900 kWh.”
Also problems for business customers
And it’s not just consumers who have a problem. Business customers have had to wait longer for a new connection or expansion of their power consumption. Yesterday, Liander asked entrepreneurs to make an estimate of their energy consumption for the next ten years.
The scarcity on the grid is the result of the growing economy, the digitization of society, the building of houses and the sustainability of the energy supply. These developments are causing an explosive demand for electricity, which is causing problems.
