Increased load on the power grid - grid congestion
The municipality of Wassenaar, together with national grid operator Tennet and regional grid operators Liander and Stedin, ensures that every resident has access to reliable, affordable and sustainable energy and power. Due to the increased demand for electricity, various network bottlenecks are occurring throughout the country. This is called "grid congestion. As a result, the grid is as good as full. Currently, the number of electricity requests exceeds the rate at which the power grid can be expanded. As a result, the power grid is under heavier load and power outages can occur, for example.
Electricity grid in the Netherlands
Our national power grid is similar to a road system. The national road system consists of highways, intermediate roads and local roads. When these roads fill up, congestion occurs. It works the same way with the electricity grid.
The electricity grid in the Netherlands is becoming increasingly full and the number of requests for energy connections is increasing very rapidly. As a result, demand is exceeding supply. For the current situation, see the Capacity Map.
South Holland electricity grid reaches maximum capacity
Electricity grid South Holland reaches maximum capacity for large electricity consumersDuring new bottlenecks on TenneT's and Stedin's grids, almost everywhere in South Holland has now also reached the limit for large electricity consumers.
The rapid rise of heat pumps, charging stations and the switch by companies from natural gas to electricity is leading to a huge demand for capacity on the electricity grid. In recent years, this development has already led to bottlenecks in the medium-voltage grids of Stedin and Liander in various places in South Holland and in TenneT's high-voltage grid in the port of Rotterdam.
TenneT and Stedin submitted a formal notification to the Authority Consumer & Market, the energy market regulator, on December 5, 2024. This means that wholesale customers in the relevant regions of South Holland who want a new or heavier connection will be put on a waiting list. This applies to all parties with a connection larger than 3x80 ampere such as companies and large institutions but also public facilities such as schools, swimming pools and village halls in the area in question. These customers will be informed about this.
The network operators are launching a so-called congestion study and investigating whether the electricity network can be relieved at busy times. For example, through technical measures or by allowing large-scale consumers to shift their demand for electricity at peak times (during 'rush hours') to times when there is less demand for electricity, in return for a fee. The introduction of 'rush hour avoidance' could potentially find additional space for new requests. The grid operators will present the results of this study by December 4, 2025.Companies already interested in providing flexible power can apply via the website www.partnersinenergie.nl.
For small consumers of electricity with a connection up to 3x80 amps, such as private individuals and small businesses, this has no consequences for the time being. This means that there are currently no obstacles for private individuals to install, for example, a charging station or heat pump.Residential construction plans known to the grid operators have been included in the grid operators' analysis and can proceed.
If you have questions about grid capacity, please contact Liander.
Electricity grid in Wassenaar
In the municipality of Wassenaar, Liander and Stedin are the regional grid operators. They are investing heavily in structural grid expansions in the Rijnland region in the coming years. There are currently three supply areas in Rijnland region that supply the entire region. In 2030-2040 there should be five supply areas. Cooperation between the municipality of Wassenaar and the regional grid operators is necessary to make this possible.
Power arrives in Wassenaar at the substation (currently located under the Sterrenbad) and is distributed within the municipality to power houses. These houses are also called transformer houses or medium-voltage rooms. Through these electricity houses, the electricity is converted from medium to low voltage, after which the power then reaches homes, apartment complexes, public spaces and businesses via underground cables.
Due to economic and social growth, the demand for electricity is also increasing and more electricity houses will have to be erected and cables laid in the future. In the future, fewer and fewer homes will be able to use a single medium-voltage substation, as conservation increases electricity consumption per home. As an example, if today an average of 135 homes receive power per cable on a medium-voltage substation, in the future this may become 25 homes per cable on a medium-voltage substation. Quite a difference.
For the municipality of Wassenaar, dozens of kilometers of cable and additional electricity houses are needed in the coming years. This will allow the village to continue to be supplied with electricity and keep the lights on in Wassenaar.
What do you notice about the additional load on the power grid?
The supply on existing connections will be guaranteed by Liander. So on existing connections there are no consequences and you will not notice anything. If you supply your own power back via solar panels, however, you may notice something. To prevent damage to equipment, the solar panels switch off if the grid is overloaded. They then no longer supply power back to the grid.
You can easily check this. Check below to see if there is extra load on the power grid.
- Bent u kleinverbruiker (< 3x80 A)? Doe dan de postcodecheck op de website van netbeheerder Liander om te zien of er problemen zijn met teruglevering van stroom.
- Are you a large consumer (> 3x80A)? Then you can see on Liander' s business web pages whether there is extra load on the power network and when it is (expected to be) resolved.