Rising electricity demand puts Stedin’s grid under strain
Despite massive investments, electricity demand spikes force grid operator Stedin to confront major grid congestion challenges.
Published on March 5, 2025
© Pok Rie - Pexels
Dutch grid operator Stedin is grappling with increasing electricity demand that threatens to overwhelm its infrastructure, despite substantial investments totaling over €1 billion in 2024. Congestion in the province of South Holland continues, with waiting lists for large-scale consumers, highlighting the grid's struggle to keep up with renewable energy integration. Expected completion of grid expansions in key areas is slated for 2034 to 2036.
Research on congestion management and flexible electricity use among large consumers aims to mitigate these issues, with results due by December 2025. Stedin has successfully cut installation times for transformer stations from nine to three months through improved collaboration with municipalities. However, the pressure on the grid persists, requiring emergency measures like diesel generators during peak periods, underscoring the ongoing balance between expanding capacity and maintaining service reliability.
Stedin infrastructure investment
Despite investing a record €1,096 million in 2024, representing a 30% increase from the previous year, Stedin continues to face mounting pressure on its grid infrastructure. The grid operator, serving 2.4 million households and businesses across the provinces of Utrecht, Zeeland, and most of South Holland, has made significant strides in expanding capacity, installing 1,013 kilometers of new cables and 353 new transformer stations in 2024—a 33% increase from 2023. However, these improvements have not been sufficient to prevent the emergence of new bottlenecks across the network.
TenneT invests €4.6 billion in power grid and combats net congestion
The Dutch power grid is overloaded, but TenneT is investing heavily in the grid.
Emergency measures and expansion
The strain on the grid has become so severe that Stedin was forced to implement emergency measures in December 2024 to prevent power outages. Most notably, the situation in Zeeland required the deployment of diesel-powered generators during the Christmas period, with similar measures anticipated for Easter. As Stedin’s CEO Koen Bogers explains, “By temporarily allowing some extra CO2 emissions, we ensure that sustainability and expansion plans can still go ahead.”' The company urges customers to reduce electricity consumption between 4 and 9 PM to avoid potential outages during peak hours.
Looking ahead, Stedin faces significant challenges in grid expansion. The regional electricity grid expansion for the Leidschendam-Voorburg and Den Haag Mariahoeve area is not expected to be completed until 2034, while the Den Haag-Zuid and Oud Rijswijk area expansions are projected for completion between 2035 and 2036. These timelines are particularly concerning given that the Netherlands aims to achieve 85% sustainable energy sourcing by 2030 and plans to deploy 94 GW of intermittent renewables. To address immediate concerns, Stedin has established agreements with 15 companies for flexible electricity use, totaling 167 MW, with aims to reach 500 MW.
How a virtual grid can tackle grid congestion problems
In the second episode of Road to 2050, we highlight another solution to tackle grid congestion. one of the main challenges to be overcome on the way to climate neutrality.
Future outlook
The cost of these necessary grid upgrades will significantly impact Dutch households, with annual grid service fees set to increase by €1,741 in 2025. This comes as the Netherlands grapples with broader challenges in its green transition, including the current reliance on natural gas for 40% of electricity production and plans to reduce this by a quarter by 2035. Network operators across the Netherlands have announced plans to invest €8 billion annually starting in 2025 to strengthen the electricity infrastructure, highlighting the massive scale of investment required to prepare the grid for future demands.