2023-11-01 10:56:24
‘The most ambitious investment plans ever’ are intended to solve the problems on the overcrowded power network. From now on, the Dutch energy network operators will jointly invest at least 8 billion euros annually, they announced on Wednesday. That is roughly 20 percent more than they already planned to invest in a stronger power grid, which can supply gas-free factories, electric cars and sustainable residential areas and welcome wind and solar power.
For the time being, do not assume that the increased investment of billions will solve the problems, the network operators immediately add. Even if the shovel goes into the ground, the trade association Netbeheer Nederland expects that regarding three-quarters of the requested power points can be installed, with more than 100,000 kilometers of cables in the ground, as planned.
There are several reasons why the problems will continue in the coming years, despite the fact that grid operators want to throw more money at them. The grid operators cannot keep up with the energy transition. Heat pumps, gas-free houses, charging points, large batteries and green energy from wind turbines and solar cells are becoming so popular that grid operators can hardly cope. In the meantime, they are struggling with a shortage of technical staff, a lack of space and complicated procedures.
Painful choices
In the hope of being able to lay more cables quickly, the energy network operators made agreements with the government last week, which wants to allow the work to start before the paperwork is in order. However, the power grid will remain too weak until 2026, Netbeheer Nederland warns.
This means that ‘painful choices’ are necessary. “We ask ourselves the question every day: what do we do now and what later?” reads a statement from Netbeheer Nederland. Because the grid operators can no longer manage the number of requests for power points, they are allowed to put those of the regulator ACM on hold for a long time. The ACM wants to legally regulate in 2024 which sockets have priority and who, as a result, will be rejected. Until then, grid operators must set your own prioritiesby looking at which application serves the greatest social interest.
“That is extremely difficult, we actually cannot and do not want to make those choices,” says spokesperson Theo Scholte of the grid operators. “Okay, if you have to choose between connecting a casino or a hospital, then the choice is clear to everyone. But what do we do if we have to make a choice between the power supply for a new primary school and a community center with a GP practice?” Don’t expect grid operators to make all kinds of ethical and social considerations themselves, Netbeheer Nederland responds negatively.
Discriminatory system
The ACM must choose the prioritization, the network operators say, or municipalities must make the decisions. Researcher Brinn Hekkelman saw the dilemma coming from a mile away. At the beginning of this year, he received his PhD from the Center for Mathematics & Computer Science and TU Delft on making ‘honest choices’ in power distribution.
Setting up a discriminatory system in which one electricity customer takes precedence over another is a technical piece of cake, says Hekkelman. It is the criteria to be used that make it complex. “What is of social benefit is sometimes a subjective judgement. The regulations will have to be super transparent to justify the choices.”
For example, electricity for healthcare can take precedence over commercial shops, electricity can go to sustainable offices rather than to dirty machines. “The most difficult thing is when power demanders are very similar. For example, several residential areas. Are you going to compare each other: which neighborhood will have medical resident facilities and which will have power-guzzling jacuzzis in the garden?”
Strengthening the power cables
The grid operators don’t want to burn their fingers on that. “We will not proactively work on prioritization, as the ACM proposes,” says spokesperson Scholte. They prefer to focus on the technical side, the expansion and reinforcement of the power cables in the ground, so that the energy transition does not stall further.
Also read:
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Just like drinking water companies, the energy sector can be faced with sensitive choices: which customer will receive electricity in the event of shortages? Giving priority to sustainable customers is a conceivable option, predicted PhD candidate Brinn Hekkelman.
The power grid cannot cope with the rapid sustainability of homes
The power grid is not equipped for the increasing number of heat pumps and solar panels. Energy grid company Alliander has already warned: take into account flashing lights and refusal of solar power at home.
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