Waiting for commercial expansion or solar panels on your house: the electricity grid is almost full

If you look at the map of West Friesland at the network operator Liander, you will see a lot of orange and red. And that means there is no more space on the network. And the rest of North Holland doesn’t look much better. Liander’s message is clear: expansion is happening, but not expected tomorrow. “Developments are going faster than we can keep up with,” says Ruben van Loon on behalf of the network operator.

For example, for housing plans, this does not immediately cause problems. A space has already been reserved for this. But entrepreneurs who want to expand and need more energy, or people who want to make their homes more sustainable, often get a “no” from Liander.

Waiting list and solar panels that go out

And precisely now that many people want to switch from gas to electric solutions, it hurts, the network operator also understands. “It is still possible in some places, but we will have to work with waiting lists, or the solar panels can sometimes go out,” explains van Loon. The latter occurs automatically if there is too much sun in certain places. overload of the electrical network threatens.

It had been clear to Liander for some time that there was a call for the expansion of the power grid. This is why there is 1 billion euros invested in North Holland. But the rate at which power consumption is increasing is too high for the network manager. “A company that has plans can do it next year. But we don’t. Our expansion plans take eight to 10 years.” In addition, there is a serious shortage of technical personnel.

West Friesland gets additional distribution stations

Take West Friesland. There, the main distribution station (built in 1972) is to be expanded. In addition, more stations will be added. Building is not so much the problem, but all the hassle before that. Most of the time is spent getting permits.

“We need physical space, laying cables underground. Land that doesn’t belong to us, but to residents and businesses. So we have to work with them in the right way. But that takes time.”

See here what the plans are for West Friesland. The text continues after the video.

Once all the work is completed, the electricity network should be able to last another 30 to 40 years. However, expansion is not the only solution, says Liander. “It’s like with roads. There are traffic jams in the morning and evening rush hours, but after that, nothing goes. But we have to configure our network for such a traffic jam, while there is a mostly low-capacity bottling is needed,” explains Ruben van Loon.

According to him, we must also adjust our behavior. “We are trying to get businesses and individuals to spread their consumption over the day. Storing energy is an example of this. But also making it attractive by using energy during off-peak hours.”

In some regions, for example, companies receive compensation if they consume electricity outside peak hours. This should free up some network space in the short term. Whether such agreements can also be made in North Holland is still under discussion.