Grid congestion is a serious and growing problem in the Netherlands. The coalition agreement of the coalition parties pays a lot of attention to the situation and the possible solutions that the political parties have in mind. The problems and the current situation will have consequences for Dutch households and companies, both with and without an electric car in the driveway. Below we have collected the most important problems, challenges and solutions, including tips that you can already consider to prepare your own home or company for grid congestion in the coming years.
What is grid congestion and why is it such an important agenda item?
Grid congestion is essentially the clogging up of the electricity grid, where the full capacity of the network is reached but there is still more demand. Compare it to the junctions on the main highways in the Netherlands. During peak times there is guaranteed to be a traffic jam, while there are still more cars joining the queue because they also have to get from A to B.
The situation is similar on the electricity grid. There is a certain maximum capacity of power available, which must be distributed among the users connected to the grid. When the full capacity is used, but there are still participants on the grid who demand power, a queue, or traffic jam, is created.
This is a fairly disastrous problem for the Netherlands. In recent years, the energy transition has accelerated, with the demand for electricity increasing significantly. However, the infrastructure itself has not been adapted or has hardly been adapted, which means that the risk of grid congestion has increased significantly. The question is not whether the network will become overloaded. The question is when this will happen and at what point grid congestion will become a daily pill for the users on the network.
That is why this cabinet has decided to pay a lot of attention to grid congestion in the coalition agreement. The big idea behind this is that the cabinet itself will soon have a leading role in determining who may be connected to the grid and when.
Grid congestion and the electric car
Although more and more people are big proponents of the electric car and EVs are undeniably the future, these plug-in cars play a key role in grid congestion. In fact, the way in which the electric car is used and charged is a direct (co-)cause of grid congestion.
Most people work from approximately 9am to 4:30 or 5pm and then drive home. When they get home, they plug their electric car into the charger, cook dinner and in most cases turn on the television, washing machine and coffee machine. Even if this only applies to a quarter of households in the Netherlands, it causes a huge peak in the demand for electricity between 5am and 7am. This is problematic, because the demand for electricity continues to rise, while the grid operators can do nothing to increase the capacity of the network (temporarily or otherwise).
To be clear: it's not just about electric cars. If you're from an older generation, consider this: how many electrical appliances did you have in your home 15-20 years ago and how many do you have now? The demand for electricity has increased in all areas and electricity is needed daily in literally every home in the Netherlands.
Solutions for grid congestion in the coalition agreement
The main points include many points relating to the energy used, consequences for the climate and direct solutions for grid congestion. The indirect measures are however a lot more interesting, because the fact that the cabinet will soon determine who is connected to the grid and when, still needs to be given a practical interpretation (although the additional ministerial post will probably play a key role in this).
Energy independence and sustainability are two key concepts here. This is not about the Netherlands as a whole, but about improving the situation in homes and business premises themselves. Incidentally, the government is also paying a lot of attention to this, because people with a middle or low income, just like small entrepreneurs, can count on help with the investments that are needed to facilitate the energy transition. The exact details of this have not yet been announced.
The indirect methods are particularly effective in reducing grid congestion, although this does mean that large consumers have to contribute by reducing their energy consumption or by ensuring that they generate (part of) the power themselves in order to relieve the grid. Of course, one can also look at planning the power consumption so that large consumers mainly use it at off-peak times. However, this is considerably easier in theory than in practice.
Will this cabinet solve grid congestion?
No, that is not possible. Although abolishing the netting scheme and setting clear objectives for grid operators in the coming years are good steps in solving grid congestion, it is not possible to solve this problem in 4 years. The demand for electricity is increasing much faster than the possibilities to expand the capacity of the grid. In concrete terms, this means that it is wise to already look at solutions and possibilities yourself, because the problem of grid congestion will only increase in the coming period, despite the intervention of the new government. We are simply too late to intervene to prevent problems, but that is something that applies to almost all countries in Europe.
Grid congestion and your own situation
Do you drive an electric car and charge your electric car at home? Then it is a good idea to start thinking about ways to combat grid congestion. Smart charging stations are a good option, for example, because they can increase the charging speed at quiet times and reduce the speed at busier times on the network. You can also opt for a charging station that you can start and stop remotely, so that you can activate the charging session when you go to sleep, for example (only if this gives the charging station enough time to fully charge the battery).
Although solar panels suddenly seem less interesting in view of the net metering scheme, this can be a great option for you. A number of panels on the roof in combination with a home battery can ensure that you become energy independent and that you do not have to worry that grid congestion will cause you to end up with an empty EV. Do calculate how many panels you need approximately; avoid generating too much power, because this will only increase grid congestion, despite your good intentions.
Are you planning to start working on becoming energy independent yourself and do you want to ensure that you can generate and use your own electricity? Then make sure that you choose a charging station that can be connected to the solar panels. Especially the models that support a low minimum charging speed are models that are very suitable. They also charge your electric car when the yield of the solar panels is lower, which ensures that you need less or no mains voltage at these times.
