More and more companies are helping to reduce pressure on the electricity grid

Grid manager Stedin is seeing more and more companies interested in helping to decongest the busy electricity grid. Stedin already made agreements for 56 megawatts (MW) with companies this year not to consume or feed in power at set times, the grid operator said in its half-year report. Together with the earlier 2023 contracts, Stedin has already contracted 100 MW of flexible capacity. The grid manager itself invested €517 million in the expansion and quality of its grids – 35% more than in the same period last year.

CEO Koen Bogers: ‘Stedin is rapidly expanding the electricity grid. We have already laid 383 kilometres of new cables and installed 173 new transformer substations this year. This is how we are building a future-proof energy system that is more in balance with nature. However, these natural energy sources have many more peaks and troughs; this makes it imperative that large consumers of energy, such as companies, are willing to make arrangements with us to avoid peaks on the grid (rush-hour avoidance). This is vital for us to continue supplying power and connecting businesses. In addition, a better utilised grid ultimately means lower costs for all citizens and businesses; we want to keep the energy transition affordable for everyone. Our ambition is to contract 500 MW of flexible capacity by the end of this year. We are hopeful that we will continue to find flexible capacity on a volunteer basis and thus avoid mandatory cut-offs for now.’

Battery, horticulturists, energy hubs

Stedin signed contracts with several companies in the last six months to actively help Stedin with 'rush-hour avoidance'. In return, these companies receive financial compensation. In the first half of 2024, this involved 56 MW of electric capacity. Collectively, the contracts Stedin signed with companies in 2023 and 2024 account for 100 MW of capacity. That is comparable to what is needed to supply all homes in a city such as Zoetermeer or Dordrecht with electricity.

Among other things, Stedin made agreements with a company that will build the largest battery system in the Netherlands at the port of Dordrecht. The grid manager also contracted a horticulturist from South Holland, which will turn on its own power plant (cogeneration) at times when there is high demand for power, so that not only the horticulturist but also others in its surroundings will benefit. In Scheveningen and Tholen, Stedin was involved in the launch of local energy hubs, where business owners share electricity with each other and provide more grid capacity in the area.

Concrete measures in Utrecht

Stedin announced six new congestion areas in 2024. In total, there are now 453 companies (274 MW) on the waiting list for feed-in and 1277 companies (868 MW) for consumption. The need for consumption – the demand for electricity – is highest in Utrecht, as security of supply is under pressure here on certain cold winter days. In April, together with national grid manager TenneT, Stedin announced a series of concrete measures that they are developing for this province. Examples of these measures include pausing charging stations on very cold days during the evening peak and installing hybrid heat pumps instead of all-electric heat pumps. In addition, Stedin and TenneT launched a call for tenders in July to find market players in the province of Utrecht who can generate additional electricity at busy times in the winter months.

Awareness

Consumers installed 139 megawatt peak of new solar panels in the first six months of 2024. Currently, 630,508 homes in Stedin's service area have solar panels on their roofs, which is 6% more than the previous year. 
On sunny days, the cables in the street quickly become overloaded with all the solar power, and consumers cannot feed electricity back into the grid temporarily; the inverters then shut down.

Consumers themselves can also help reduce pressure on the grid, by using energy when it is sunny or turning off charging stations when a lot of power is needed. To give them insight, the grid manager launched the 'eKlok' this spring: an online clock that indicates when it is a good time to use energy or, conversely, use a little less energy. From research, Stedin knows that, as a result of this campaign, 66% of the target group has become more aware of the congested power grid and is willing to adjust their behaviour – by doing laundry when the sun is shining, for example.

Financial results

Operating profit for the first half of 2024 was €147 million, which was higher than in the same period last year (2023: €115 million), mainly due to higher tariffs. Net profit was slightly lower at €56 million (2023: €62 million) due to a one-off charge resulting in higher financial expenses. Our investments amounted to €517 million (2023: €384 million) and led to a negative free cash flow of €274 million (2023: €133 million negative). Stedin welcomed 21 new shareholders this spring; besides the Provinces of Utrecht and Zeeland, 7 municipalities in Utrecht and 12 in Zeeland have become shareholders. With this, even more public parties are putting their weight behind a future-proof energy system. Together, the new shareholders strengthen Stedin Group's equity by €33 million. A new €500 million green bond was also issued.

About Stedin Group 

Working together to create an environment filled with new energy. Stedin Group’s almost 6,000 employees work towards this goal every day. We believe it is our responsibility to ensure that all our customers can have sustainable energy where they live, work and do business. As Stedin Group, we are making the energy system more sustainable while keeping it robust and affordable. Stedin Group is comprised of the grid manager Stedin (active in most of South Holland, Utrecht and Zeeland) and the experts of NetVerder and infrastructure company DNWG Infra, who work together to reach this goal.