Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning, Elanor Boekholt-OSullivan, and State Secretary for Climate and Green Growth, Jo-Annes de Bat, visited Utrecht to discuss with regional administrators measures to accelerate solutions for the crisis situation around grid congestion. The electricity grid is so full that a connection stop is already threatening this summer. This would mean, among other things, that new houses would no longer receive a power connection and that housing construction and business activities would come to a halt in the long term. To prevent this, an accelerated expansion of the electricity grid is necessary, such as the construction of the high-voltage station in Utrecht-North.
The province of Utrecht currently has the fullest electricity grid in the Netherlands together with Flevoland and Gelderland. Grid operator TenneT announced on February 12 that in large parts of the Utrecht region the available capacity is fully utilized and that new connections for small consumers may no longer be granted from the summer. This directly affects the large housing task in the region and hampers the sustainability of the energy supply. For large consumers, there is already a waiting list. A complete connection stop is the next step to prevent large-scale disruptions and power outages.
Acceleration of grid expansion
The visit of the minister and state secretary started in Utrecht-North where the high-voltage station is to be built. Accelerating construction is crucial to create more capacity on the grid before 2033 and to get out of the crisis situation. The officials viewed the intended location and spoke with local residents to hear how their concerns can be taken into account.
Largest housing location in the Netherlands
After Utrecht-North, the officials visited the new construction sites Rijnenburg and MerwedeKanaalZone, together with the A-12 zone the largest housing location in the Netherlands. In Rijnenburg, attention was given to extending the Merwedelijn, which is a prerequisite for the development of the new district. The unique cooperation between municipalities and market parties was also emphasized. Grid congestion was also discussed here: in Rijnenburg, energy stations are being expanded in size and number to contribute to the increasing demand in the city and region.
Tailor-made solutions
In the MerwedeKanaalZone, it was explained how innovative and sustainable tailor-made solutions ensure that despite grid congestion construction can continue, such as the group contract with which the energy demand in the area is aligned and thus reduced as a whole. These tailor-made solutions help locally but are insufficient to structurally solve grid congestion. For that, grid expansions are necessary, such as the new high-voltage station in Utrecht-North. Accelerating construction to put the station into use earlier than 2033 is crucial to get out of the crisis situation for the Utrecht region. Alderman Senna Maatoug (Energy and Climate), municipality of Utrecht: Grid congestion is not a temporary problem; scarcity on the electricity grid is the new reality. In Utrecht, we will already reach the limits of the grid this coming summer, and a connection stop threatens. In the coming period, it is very important that grid operators, the national government, and municipalities work result-oriented together in a crisis approach fully focused on solutions. Make Utrecht the place where we test and scale new solutions, because what works here, we can then apply in the rest of the Netherlands. Deputy Huib van Essen (Energy), province of Utrecht: With this working visit so soon after their appointment, the minister and state secretary show that they recognize the seriousness of the situation in Utrecht. A connection stop would be disastrous for our region and for the ambitions of the new cabinet. We already have one of the largest housing shortages in the Netherlands. If we join forces, we can still avert a connection stop. For that, support from the national government is needed to remove obstructive rules so that we can accelerate grid expansion. And help with measures to reduce peak load on the grid by households. I expect to make firm agreements with the cabinet and grid operators soon.
TenneT announced in 2022 that the high-voltage grid had reached its limit, causing entrepreneurs and other large consumers to be placed on a waiting list from that moment. In 2023, the grid operator warned that the situation was critical, with a possible queue for small consumers looming. If TenneT announces a connection stop this summer, it applies to housing construction planned for the coming years. In the province, 52,500 planned new homes could temporarily not be connected, mainly in Rijnenburg. This also applies to more than 1,100 companies currently on the waiting list and, for example, new public charging stations. Moreover, the sustainability of the energy supply – the switch from fossil to electricity – is stalled.
For press information:
dylan.de.gruijl@provincie-utrecht.nl
06 33 04 37 83