The Marsdijk district in Assen has been experiencing power outages more and more in recent weeks. Feeding power back through solar panels causes fuses in transformers in distribution stations to blow.
“That is not only the case in Marsdijk,” says Enexis spokesperson Cyriel Hamstra. “The infrastructure in residential areas was built decades ago. We could not have foreseen that so much power would have to go through the infrastructure now. Nowadays the power network is being made more robust.”
The fact that the problems are occurring right now is because it is sunny outside and the solar panels want to feed back into the grid as much as possible. At the same time, power is consumed and that must be done through the same cable. There is insufficient capacity, especially at peak times between half past twelve and two o’clock.
According to Hamstra, this problem is becoming more and more common, especially in Groningen and Drenthe, because more and more solar panels are being sold there. “Our mechanics drive the fire out of their shoes,” says Hamstra. “They go from transformer station to transformer station to make sure they stay in the air.” He also says that if the fuse in the neighborhood does not blow, some inverters will go out as protection.
According to Hamstra, there are still no ready-made solutions in sight for all the problems. “We are currently already working on a district-oriented approach to the power network to make it more robust. Everyone will notice that. Capacity is being increased in all districts. It is a historic renovation.”
Enexis says it is doing everything it can to keep the electricity going at the moment. “But not everyone understands that, but we do our best.”