The Netherlands is rationing electricity as thousands of businesses and households await connection to the congested power grid.

Reports indicate over 11,900 businesses are waiting for electricity connections, alongside hospitals, schools, and fire stations.

Thousands of new homes are also stuck in the queue, with some possibly having to wait until the 2030s.

The wait times follow the country’s rapid transition to ‘renewable’ energy sources to cut carbon emissions.

Some analysts predict the electricity rationing in the Netherlands is an early indicator of what will transpire in other European countries.

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Although electricity prices are higher in the Netherlands than in neighboring countries, officials view the Dutch dilemma as a warning.

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And now experts are warning that Britain, as well as Belgium and Germany, are all ‘in trouble.’

The countries should ‘definitely’ see what is happening in the Netherlands as a warning, says Zsuzsanna Pató, from Brussels-based energy think tank RAP.

After shutting down production at the massive Groningen gas field last year, the Dutch government has pushed a fast transition to electric heating, solar power and battery storage.

But the national grid has failed to keep pace, creating widespread bottlenecks and driving up costs.

Officials estimate €200 billion will be needed by 2040 to expand grid capacity. Electricity prices are already among the highest in Western Europe, and Dutch households face yearly tariff increases of up to 4.7 percent for at least the next decade.

To ease demand, operators are offering cheaper contracts for off-peak usage and telling major industries they may need to shut off entirely for several hours a day.

A national ad campaign is urging the public to avoid charging e-bikes and electric cars between 4pm and 9pm, when the grid is under the most strain.

The Netherlands has led one of the fastest and most aggressive efforts in Europe to transition to so-called ‘green’ energy sources.

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The country has an unrealistic goal of splitting carbon emissions in half by 2030 instead of depending on more reliable energy sources.

“Even tech hubs like Eindhoven are losing investment because they can’t guarantee electricity,” Mario Nawfal noted.

Germany-based outlet PPC Land provided additional details:

Dutch infrastructure struggles under electrification pressure. The Netherlands moved fastest among European nations to electrify critical economic sectors after ending production at its Groningen gasfield in 2023. More than 2.6 million Dutch homes now feature solar panels on rooftops, while companies accelerated their transition away from gas following the EU’s energy price crisis in 2022. The rapid shift exposed infrastructure vulnerabilities that had developed over decades of gas dependency.

“The country had been so used to relying on its gas resources that power grid upgrades had not kept pace,” Tennet, the national power grid operator, acknowledged. The resulting bottlenecks create some of the highest electricity costs in western Europe, with monthly prices roughly €30 per megawatt hour higher than France this year.

Investment requirements reveal the scale of the challenge. The Dutch government estimates €200 billion in investment for cables and new substations through 2040. Some funding will come from Tennet’s German power grid sale to private investors, valued at approximately €20 billion. However, the majority must be covered through asset amortization, with consumers bearing the cost through tariff increases averaging 4.3% to 4.7% annually until 2034.

The situation particularly affects technology hubs. The Brainport region around Eindhoven, home to 750,000 people and advanced technology companies led by ASML, has lost investment due to power supply rationing. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, mayor of Eindhoven, stated: “Everything is going electric and electricity infrastructure needs to grow massively everywhere.” No significant new grid capacity will be installed in the region until 2027, according to Tennet figures.

 

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