The province, TenneT and Stedin are tackling the full Utrecht power grid with concrete measures

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REGION > On April 25, the province of Utrecht, on behalf of the Energy Board and together with grid operators TenneT and Stedin, announced that the measures announced on October 18, 2023 will first become concrete in Utrecht. This is to guarantee the electricity supply. This is what outgoing minister Jetten wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives. These are specific measures that will be deployed in the short term in the province of Utrecht because demand there is much greater than the available network capacity. The measures also serve as a starting point for other regions.

The demand for electricity is increasing enormously. The power grid is filling up throughout the country, but in the province of Utrecht in particular the situation is dire. The sustainability plans of companies, industry, housing associations and consumers are moving so quickly that Utrecht is already in the situation predicted for 2030. The limits of what the electricity grid can handle are coming into view. The shortage of grid capacity in the province will increase to 250 megawatts (MW) for small-scale consumption between 2026 and 2029; consumers, self-employed people, small companies, associations and foundations with a connection up to 3×80 amperes. This is equivalent to the power supply for approximately 80,000 homes.

A major renovation is required to meet all the demand for electricity transmission capacity. The grid operators – together with the province, municipalities and regions – are working hard to expand and strengthen the electricity grid. But that takes time, the expansion must be completed by 2029.

Even now, extra space is needed on the grid, so smart solutions are continuously being sought to use the grid more efficiently.

Specific measures with serious impact

That is why concrete measures will be taken immediately in the province of Utrecht. To this end, the ‘Energy Board Province of Utrecht’ collaborates with all parties involved. The letter to Parliament mentions ten measures. The four measures with the most impact in Utrecht are:

Grid-aware charging of electric vehicles

A lot of profit can be achieved by pausing public charging stations at peak times. This measure involves close collaboration with the National Charging Infrastructure Agenda (NAL). Grid-aware charging potentially yields 85-100 MW. That is 42,500 to 50,000 homes that can be connected to the grid.

Grid-efficient installations in existing buildings

This concerns, for example, hybrid heat pumps instead of fully electric ones. This measure can yield 100-140 MW in existing buildings.

Grid-conscious new construction

This concerns new construction that does not lead to peak loads on the grid. Grid-aware new construction potentially yields 40-60 MW.

Use of adjustable generation

The road to a green future may not be possible without a bit of ‘grey’. For example, by temporarily using gas-driven solutions, such as a combined heat and power unit (CHP) or gas turbine, to solve the erratic peaks (for example in extreme cold), the shortage in Utrecht is expected to decrease by 100 MW. The potential can even reach 250 MW.

The other measures can be found in the letter to Parliament. If necessary, these measures can also be deployed in the other provinces in the long term. For the neighboring regions of Flevopolder and Gelderland, grid operators TenneT and Liander are currently further investigating how large the shortage is and which measures are needed there and will have the most effect. The results of this analysis are expected before the summer.

Prevent waiting lists for small-scale consumption

The province, the grid operators and the minister want to prevent new construction and consumers who want to make their home more sustainable or install a charging station from being put on a waiting list in the province of Utrecht as much as possible. It will be periodically evaluated whether the measures produce sufficient results.

If the measures are not implemented, new construction will no longer be possible in large parts of the province of Utrecht, the energy transition will slow down, the reliability of the energy supply will be affected and there will be interruptions to the power supply. Huib van Essen, Provincial Executive of Utrecht and chairman of the Energy Board: “Because we are now working together on these measures, we can continue to connect small consumers, SME companies and new-build homes in our province as much as possible. The sustainability of homes and mobility can also continue. Pausing charging stations at peak times and temporarily switching to gas installations at peak times are unfortunately necessary for this, but they have a significant impact on reducing grid congestion or traffic jams on the grid. In this way, together we can ensure that sustainability tasks and social developments do not stagnate.”

The Energy Board Utrecht is organizing a meeting in May for all Boards, Councils and States in the province of Utrecht to provide a substantive explanation of the measures and what is expected of the municipalities. The ‘net-aware city’ approach of the municipalities of Utrecht and Amersfoort is a good example of how these types of solutions can be put into practice.