Electricity market

The energy sector is developing rapidly. The process of European market integration began some years ago. Its purpose is to create a single European market that enables market parties to trade gas and electricity across national borders easily and efficiently.

Explore the electricity market

Transparency data

We provide transparency data on our operations on our Dutch and German transparency page and on ENTSO-E. 

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E-Insights

Our vision is to be one of the most transparent Transmission System Operators (TSO) in Europe and thereby creating value for society. In this Energy Insights section we present selected energy related topics and show data, information and valuable insights. 

E-Insights

E-Insights

Facts & figures related to TenneT facilitating the market can be found here.

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Transmission capacity

As transmission system operator, TenneT is charged with maintaining and developing the high-voltage grid in the Netherlands. The grid is one of the most reliable in the world. The rapid development of the energy transition and economic growth are generating a growing demand for capacity on the high-voltage grid.

The energy transition requires extensive expansion and adaptation of the national high-voltage grid. At the same time, large-scale maintenance of the grid is necessary and we have a major replacement task to fulfil. TenneT is growing and expanding its work package significantly in the coming years. Annual investments in the Dutch onshore high-voltage grid will grow substantially from 1 billion EUR today. 

On the road to 2030, every RES region and every industrial cluster will make major adjustments in order to meet the climate objectives. These plans have recently become very concrete, causing TenneT's workload to rise faster than it can responsibly cope with. In view of the final results of these regional plans, TenneT is reviewing its priorities and will decide when to take on which projects. These assessments are being made in a broad context, taking into account factors such as safety, security of supply and the reliability of the current and future energy system and are closely aligned with DSOs. Together, we will provide clarity on this in the autumn. 

At the same time, TenneT invests heavily in further innovations, efficiency and cooperation/partnerships to meet the challenges of the energy transition. 

Making choices

Making choices

Our electricity grid is becoming increasingly overloaded as a result of increasing demand for electricity and major changes in our energy supply. Modifications to the grid take a lot of time and we have a great shortage of technicians.

This means that projects are sometimes delayed or have to be postponed: TenneT sometimes has to make choices. Watch the video to see TenneT's vision of this.

Investments and bottlenecks

What are we investing in and upgrading the grid for?

Starting in 2020, TenneT will publish investment plans for onshore and offshore grids every two years, each with a ten-year horizon. The draft investment plans for 2020-2029 have been adopted and can be viewed via the enclosed link.

Read TenneT's investment plans here (in Dutch only) 

Where are the bottlenecks?

Throughout the Netherlands we are seeing a great deal of interest in the demand for additional grid capacity. Watch our animation on grid capacity below (in Dutch only).

Solutions for transmission scarcity

Dynamic Line Rating

Using the Dynamic Line Rating technique, we measure the throughput and transmission capacity of a number of critical line segments every five minutes in order to determine whether more transmission is possible.

Read more on Dynamic Line Rating

Spare capacity from high voltage grid

Every connection in our grid uses ~50% of its capacity. We open up the remaining 'hard shoulder' more often for sustainably generated electricity.

Read more on spare capacity

Curtailment

Curtailment means to shorten and means that producers of green electricity are experimenting with dimming solar parks. 

Read more about curtailment

GOPACS

GOPACS is a unique initiative in Europe and arose from active cooperation between the Dutch national grid operator TenneT and regional grid operators.

Read more about GOPACS

Flexibility from heat pumps

The smarter use of heat pumps and heat networks can, in theory, yield a lot of flexible electricity demand.

Read more about flexibility from heat pumps

Congestion management

With congestion management, we distribute the limited space on the electricity network. We do this at times when the demand for electricity transport is higher than what the electricity grid can handle. 

Read more about congestion management

Frequently asked questions

Why does it take so long to get a connection?

There are various reasons why it can take longer to get a connection. There is a great deal of interest in new connections to the grid. The large customer demand means that there may be queues. Not all customers can be connected at the same time. Furthermore, the expansion of networks takes a lot of time, among other things because of the extensive and careful procedures involved.

Where can I complain?

It is of course very annoying that a new connection takes a long time to be installed. We will gladly continue to discuss the possibilities. In addition, you can always contact the regulator of the energy market, the Netherlands Authority for the Consumer and Market (ACM). 

I want to connect to a regional grid operator, but I am told that TenneT's grid is full. How does that work?

We have noticed that there is a great deal of interest in rural areas in particular in connecting to the grid, especially solar parks. These solar parks collectively supply a lot of electricity back to the grid, more than is used in the region. All this electricity comes together, for example, at a connection station between the regional grid and TenneT's national grid. This may create bottlenecks at some point. 

Does this news threaten the objectives of the Climate Agreement?

The objectives of the Climate Agreement have been set for 2030: there is still time for the realisation of large-scale grid expansions. It is important, however, that the long-term visions of the (regional) governments are as concrete as possible. These will have a major impact on the decision-making and realisation of the infrastructure needed to achieve the climate objectives.  

When will expansion take place?

Investments in the grids are in full swing. TenneT invests approximately € 1 billion per year in maintenance, reinforcement and expansion of the high-voltage grid, and a total of € 7.8 to 8.7 billion over the next ten years.

How does TenneT set priorities?

TenneT continually assesses which projects have the highest priority. Those projects with the greatest impact on security of supply, for example, are given high priority. You can read more about the priorities and considerations in TenneT's investment plan (in Dutch).

Can I build a connection myself?

We regularly receive requests from customers to build their own connection, or part of their connection. We would like to discuss this actively to see what the possibilities are.  

Which measures do you take to scale up?

It is clear that all the plans represent a huge challenge for all grid operators, including TenneT. Close cooperation between all parties involved will enable us to limit this as much as possible. TenneT is also scaling up. The search for new technicians is in full swing. Cooperation with contractors is also being intensified so that more work can be done. Efforts are also being made to speed up the work, for instance by standardising more.  

Contact

Customer care

Customer contact

Customer Care Center: For customers of TenneT Netherlands only.