Dutch households may have to pay more to use electricity at peak times from 2028, the Dutch consumer and markets watchdog ACM said on Friday.
The regulator mooted the measure in its annual Focus on Energy report and will decide later this year how the costs of using the energy network are to be calculated. Industry – including large and small firms – will also switch to fees which depend on the time of day.
The ACM said the step is needed because the power grid is overloaded from late afternoon until around 9pm. It is not yet clear what the new tariff structure will look like in practice and the agency said it plans to publish more information as the year progresses.
“The overloaded electricity grid, delays in rolling out district heating networks and geopolitical uncertainty are putting pressure on switch to clean energy,” ACM board member Manon Leijten. “For the energy transition to succeed, flexibility is needed from grid operators, businesses, households, the government and from us as the regulator.”
On Wednesday it emerged that the grid is so congested that no new electricity connection contracts will be issued for homes in the central Netherlands after the summer while two new substations are completed.
Encouragement
The government has been trying to encourage people to use less electricity at busy times.
Households have been asked to charge electric cars outside peak hours and to replace energy-hungry appliances, such as old freezers, with more efficient models. But grid operators say those measures have not had enough impact.
By raising charges during peak periods, the ACM hopes to nudge consumers into shifting their usage. That could mean paying less if a washing machine runs outside peak hours or if an electric car is not charged immediately after arriving home from work.
The ACM is charged with regulating the electricity market.
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