Electricity sector in the Netherlands
 TenneT grid map, small
|
|
|
TenneT grid map, large (PDF) Archive
|
The electricity sector in the Netherlands exists out of several components, with each a specific set of stakeholders. These main components are generation, transmission, distribution and retail of electricity.
Before 1998 utilities were allowed to own an electricity network and sell the electricity at the same time. This gave companies that owned the network unfair advantages over companies that were only active in the retail of electricity. Therefore, in 1998, the electricity sector in the Netherlands was restructured with the introduction of the Electricity Act. This Act demanded the decoupling between utilities and electricity supply. Generation and retail of electricity in the Netherlands were liberalized. However, the transmission and distribution were and are still centralized and operated by the system operator and the utilities. The system operator and utilities have a monopoly position in the energy market. Therefore, to guarantee the rights of consumers and businesses in the electricity sector, these parties have to be regulated. To accomplish this, in 2013 the Authority for Consumers and Markets was founded.
The system operator, TenneT, is the only stakeholder responsible for managing the high-voltage grid (between a voltage of 110 kV to 380 kV) in the Netherlands. There are seven utility companies that own the regional energy grids: Cogas Infra en Beheer B.V., Enduris B.V., Enexis B.V.,Liander N.V., Stedin B.V. and Westland Infra Netbeheer B.V.
The total electricity consumption of the Netherlands in 2013 is 119 billion kWh. The consumption grew from 7 billion in 1950 with an average of 4.5% per year. Currently, the main resources for electricity in the Netherlands are fossil fuels, such as natural gas and coal. In 2012, fossil fuels accounted for 81& of the produced electricity. However, renewable energy sources, such as biomass, wind energy and solar energy, produce 12% of the total electricity. There is one nuclear plant in the Netherlands, in Borssele, which is responsible for about 3.5% of total generation. The majority of the electricity, more than 60%, is produced centrally by thermal and nuclear units.
...
Wikipedia