Major intervention against overloaded power grid: more gas and pausing charging stations | Economy

The measures are necessary because there is a long queue of households and companies for new power connections. If nothing is done, there will be occasional power outages in the coming years, as outgoing climate minister Rob Jetten and grid operators Stedin and TenneT outline in their plans.

Also, from 2030 there will no longer be room for new-build homes on the power grid. And households that want to become more sustainable or parties that want to install charging stations would then be faced with a closed door.

The parties want to prevent households from putting a lot of extra pressure on the power grid when making their homes more sustainable. During renovations, sustainability or new construction, continuous consideration must be given to the load on the power grid.

If a household wants to replace their central heating boiler, the intention is to encourage them to choose a hybrid heat pump. According to the parties, this is also a much better choice for the power grid than a fully electric heat pump. The latter costs a lot of electricity. A fully electric boiler is in any case not recommended.

The overload on the power grid must also be taken into account when installing heat pumps in new-build homes. This is possible if installers follow a protocol for “net-aware installation”.

Another proposal is to continue the development of smart public charging stations. The charging stations pause charging at times when the power grid is busy and your car is charged automatically at times when it is quieter, for example at night.

Finally, there must remain a backup with energy supply via gas. This can be done by using gas turbines at times when it is really cold. “The road to green is not possible without a bit of gray,” writes grid operator TenneT in a presentation.

The plans must also make room for new power connections, for example for new-build homes. The grid operators fear that the shortage on the electricity grid in the province will rise to 250 megawatts (MW).

The plan for deploying smart charging stations alone could potentially add 85 to 100 MW of space on the power grid. This provides room for the connection of 42,500 to 50,000 new homes to the power grid.

Using hybrid heat pumps instead of electric ones can also save 100 to 140 MW. And by taking peak loads on the power grid into account in new construction, 40 to 60 MW can also be saved. Finally, the use of gas turbines to absorb peaks in extreme cold can also limit the shortage on the power grid for 100 MW.

The problem is most acute in the province of Utrecht. That is why the first concrete measures have already been announced there. In the Flevopolder and Gelderland, research is being done into what measures are needed there.