Amsterdam households face higher energy network costs

Households in Amsterdam face an average increase of around 140 euros next year for their electricity and gas connections. Network operators are raising transport fees to fund major upgrades to the electricity grid.

Across the Netherlands, average network costs will rise by 20%, adding roughly 89 euros for electricity and 52 euros for gas, according to the regulator Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM).

Regional operator Liander, which handles electricity distribution in and around Amsterdam, is raising its fees by 23%, adding 109 euros per year. Additional gas network costs in the city will be lower than the national average, adding around 30 euros.

Massive grid upgrades

Amsterdam is projected to need three to four times more electricity by 2050, creating heavy congestion on an unprepared network. Hundreds of businesses and households in the city are already on waiting lists for an electricity connection.

The ACM expects that 235 billion euros will be required nationwide to make the electricity network future-proof. Upgrades include laying new cables for offshore wind energy and building thousands of regional transformer substations to prevent blackouts.

In Amsterdam alone, around 2,600 additional electricity substations are needed. Liander notes that finding space for these units presents a major challenge in the city.

Rising energy tariffs

Large consumers connected to the high-voltage network managed by TenneT will also see their grid tariffs rise by 20%. Industry association Netbeheer Nederland described the price increases as substantial.

The network rate hikes arrive alongside rising gas and electricity commodity prices driven by unrest in the Middle East.

The peak price for a cubic metre of gas in a fixed annual contract has reached 1.73 euros, up from January, while new electricity contracts have risen from 23 cents to 30 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Source: AD