Grid Congestion
The grid operator says no.
Your battery says yes.
Large parts of the Netherlands are locked: no heavier connection, waiting lists of years. With battery storage you simply keep growing on your existing connection.
The solution
More capacity, without a heavier connection.
The problem
Waiting is not a strategy.
Anyone requesting a heavier grid connection today ends up on a waiting list of several years in many regions. Meanwhile you want to electrify: EV chargers, heat pumps, electric processes, expansion.
Charge electric company vehicles without overloading your connection: the battery supplies the peak, the grid supplies the average.
From gas to electric without grid reinforcement — the battery absorbs the extra peaks your connection can’t handle.
More machines, more shifts, more consumption — within your existing contracted capacity.
Can’t your solar power get onto the grid? Store it and use or trade it later, instead of being curtailed.
The solution
Smarter use of the connection you already have.
The EMS monitors your contracted capacity 24/7. If a breach is imminent, the battery steps in — automatically, within milliseconds.
| Grid reinforcement needed | 0× — you work within your existing connection |
| Extra income via the imbalance market | indicatively ± € 55 per kWh of battery capacity per year |
| Monitoring and control | 24/7 automatic via smart EMS — with OTA updates |
| Response time | Milliseconds — your processes notice nothing |
Background
What exactly is grid congestion?
The power grid is full in more and more places: demand for transport capacity is growing faster than grid operators can expand. For businesses, that concretely means: not being able to get a heavier connection — or not being allowed to feed back.
Electrification of industry, vehicle fleets, heat pumps and data centres is driving demand. Grid reinforcement takes years: permits, personnel and materials are scarce. Large parts of the Netherlands are marked orange or red on the congestion map.
Anyone requesting a heavier connection or more transport capacity from Liander, Enexis or Stedin ends up on a waiting list in congestion areas — often for several years. Meanwhile, your growth is on hold.
Congestion works both ways. In many regions, solar rooftops can no longer feed their power back: new feed-in capacity is refused or existing capacity is limited. Generated power you can’t use is a loss.
A business battery decouples your consumption and generation from the moment of transport. You use your connection to the maximum within existing limits — and keep growing without waiting for the grid operator.
Terminology
The terms you’ll come across, explained.
The same terms keep coming up in conversations with your grid operator. Here’s what they mean — and how battery storage addresses them.
| Contracted transport capacity (GTV) | The maximum capacity (kW) agreed with your grid operator. The battery automatically keeps you under it — and enables expansion within your GTV. |
| Congestion management | Scheme where the grid operator pays you to use less grid capacity at peak times. With a battery you can participate without adjusting your operations. |
| Non-firm ATO / flexible contract | Connection with limited transport certainty at lower cost. Combined with storage, often the route to getting connected quickly. |
| Curtailment / feed-in limitation | Mandatory shutdown of your solar power at peak times. With storage you don’t curtail, you store — and sell later. |
| Quarter-hour peak | Your highest average draw per 15 minutes — decisive for your grid costs. Peak shaving reduces exactly this value. |
Frequently asked questions about grid congestion
In most cases: yes. The battery supplies the peaks your connection can’t handle — EV chargers, electric processes, extra production. Based on your quarter-hour data, we calculate how much extra capacity you can free up within your existing connection.
Especially then. You store your generation and use or trade it when it’s possible and profitable. That way your PV installation keeps delivering returns, even with a feed-in limitation from the grid operator.
Considerably faster than grid reinforcement. Systems up to about 230 kWh are delivered from EU stock and are usually installed within a few weeks — installation itself takes 1–2 days. Container projects are scheduled per project.
A battery behind your existing connection doesn’t require a heavier connection. A notification requirement to your grid operator does apply; our installation partners handle the registration and grid coupling in accordance with EN 50549.
Yes. With a controllable battery, you’re an attractive flexibility partner for your grid operator. Compensation varies by region and contract; we cover the possibilities during the consultation.
Further reading
Also read what a business battery delivers financially, check out our range of business batteries, or request a free savings analysis right away.
Stuck on the grid operator’s waiting list?
Send us your situation. We’ll calculate whether storage enables your expansion — and what it delivers.