The energy grid in Brabant must be shut down urgently and a special coordinator has been appointed for this. Ben Voorhorst will start immediately and together with the provinces of Brabant, Limburg and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, he must solve the enormous capacity problems as quickly as possible. This is to prevent companies from being unable to be connected to the power grid in the future.
Ben Voorhorst has been appointed by Minister Jetten of Climate and Energy and the provinces of Brabant and Limburg. He was previously involved in the Climate Agreement in 2019 on the measures to achieve climate goals. He was operational director at TenneT until 2021.
TenneT and the provinces are making an urgent appeal to companies to voluntarily map out how much electricity they consume. Often the reserved amount of power is much higher than the actual consumption.
In addition, TenneT keeps an eye on applications that have already been received but are not yet needed. That is also reserved power that is not (yet) purchased. In this way, the network operator already gathers some extra space.
With man and power
Also, the research into congestion management completed quickly. This study examines which companies are willing to temporarily purchase less electricity if they are paid for it. That study would not be ready until the end of the year, but efforts are now underway to complete it earlier. “We try to free up as many people as possible to clarify this as soon as possible,” says Eefje van Gorp of TenneT.
In Brabant and Limburg, several companies have already registered that want to store energy in large batteries. In Limburg this is a total of 300 MegaWatt, in Brabant about 200 MegaWatt. This amount of electricity is comparable to the consumption of the city of Den Bosch.
Not done yet
This is an important role for the new coordinator, because the legislation is not yet ready for it. “Batteries are still seen as a new customer and so that is not allowed,” says Van Gorp. “The coordinator must talk to the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), which supervises the energy market, to change that.”
The province also wants to get rid of the rule that whoever applies for a connection first will also be the first to receive it. She therefore wants more options quickly. A spokesperson says: “In the short term, various measures will create some extra space. We therefore want to use this scarce space for projects with the greatest social value. We will therefore continue to put pressure on the coordinator to see what is possible. “
Emergency procedure
The provinces also want an urgent procedure to get the new Energy Act through the Senate and House of Representatives as quickly as possible. “The urgency is dripping.” Minister Jetten thinks that that will not last very long.
At the beginning of June it was announced that no new companies can be connected to the electricity grid in Brabant and Limburg for the time being. There is also no more room for existing companies that want a heavier connection. The high-voltage grid in both provinces is almost at maximum capacity.
In order to increase capacity, TenneT will invest approximately two billion euros in both provinces over the next ten years. For example, the existing 380 kV connection (electricity highway) between Geertruidenberg and Maasbracht will be strengthened. In Brabant, work is underway on new high-voltage substations in Halsteren, Boxmeer and Tilburg, among others. But it will take years before they are ready, while the need is already over.
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