Value of the prioritization framework for alleviating grid congestion is uncertain

Energie-Nederland attaches great importance to tackling the lack of grid capacity. Accelerating grid reinforcement and grid expansion is essential. At the same time, there will be grid shortages in the near future. The consequences of this are major. Sustainable energy production is denied access to the grid and electrification is seriously hampered. Energie-Nederland therefore understands the public desire to enable social prioritization of transport capacity. The network operators now use the “first come, first served principle” when handling transport requests. ACM’s draft decision states that network operators can deviate from that principle and must use a prioritization framework as included in the draft decision.

Energie-Nederland has submitted an opinion on that draft decision and notes that it is unclear whether the draft decision will help to resolve congestion on the grid:

  • It is unclear in which situation prioritization can be applied.
  • The application of prioritization in the event of impending congestion is unclear because no queues may arise in that situation.
  • It is questionable whether the criterion “congestion alleviation” can be used for prioritization.
  • Include collective heat facilities such as WKOs and security of supply for existing heat networks in the prioritization table.
  • Make it possible for charging infrastructure for sustainability to fall under “sustainability”.
  • Application of the efficient grid use criterion is unclear.

Read the views on the draft decision on the prioritization framework for relieving grid congestion here.

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