Flashing lights and, in the worst case, even a power failure. The electricity grid is overcrowded. And the pressure will increase even further in the coming years, predicts grid manager Enexis.
One of those neighborhoods is located in Bovensmilde. A neighborhood where a lot is being done in the field of sustainability. No flashing lights here, but problems with solar panels. “There we see that on sunny days a lot of energy is returned to the grid. So much that it becomes too busy on the grid and the inverter cannot handle it and is temporarily switched off. As a result, the residents cannot supply for a while,” explains Vermeer. .
Solar panels on roofs, electric cars on the charger and more and more electrical equipment in the home. Not only are we purchasing more electricity, we are also supplying more and more energy to the grid. The current energy network, which was once built to purchase electricity, is not designed for this. In addition, they see at Enexis that the number of households that upgrade their electricity connection is growing.
That is why substantial investments will be made in the energy network in the coming years. Enexis is responsible for the energy network in Drenthe, Groningen and parts of Overijssel, among others. The company announced at the end of last year that it intends to spend 2.5 billion euros over eight years to steer the energy transition in the right direction. This year, 120 million will be earmarked for this in Drenthe.
“We assume a neighborhood-oriented approach,” says Vermeer. “The places where the voltage problems are the greatest and where the most customers are affected, we will work first.” This means that other places in Drenthe may suffer from tension complaints. “Inverters could fail for a while and that is of course very annoying for customers. This can take several years.”
The residents of the sustainable neighborhood in Bovensmilde need not worry much about this. “We will soon start building more stations there. We are now preparing this project.”
For the time being, Enexis says it can continue to meet the energy demand of consumers and small businesses. But households can also help to reduce peaks on the power grid. “In order to get as few voltage complaints as possible in the coming years, we should use energy more efficiently. For example, when solar panels are fully operational, it is good to run your washing machine and dishwasher or to charge your electric car. It requires a different view of energy consumption.”
In the meantime, the network operator is working with all its might to make the energy network future-proof. Vermeer: ”We are all so busy with sustainability and that is positive. But we are actually going too fast. That is not a pleasant conclusion, but I think we should be proud that sustainability is getting off the ground so well. “