Our strategy

The government has agreed that in 2050 there must be no more harmful carbon emissions in the Netherlands. To achieve this, we should already be reducing our carbon emissions by 55% in 2030 compared to 1990, but 60% would be even better. Among other things, this will result in a high degree of electrification of society, new forms of energy generation and alternatives for natural gas with fitting infrastructural modifications. Apart from expanding and upgrading existing networks, this calls for a fundamental change to how the energy system is constructed, used and managed. The current rate at which the energy networks are being modified is not in line with what is required. Waiting times for new connections and upgrades are therefore increasing and this has a major impact on society, including the housing development challenge, efforts to improve sustainability in the Netherlands and the economy. This also puts pressure on efforts to accelerate development and improve sustainability in the Netherlands.

Our goal is to offer customers timely solutions that fit within an affordable and reliable energy system, both today and in the future. Our expansions, upgrades and modifications make improved sustainability and development in the Netherlands possible and enable us to work towards it's further acceleration. Our revised strategy shows how we will achieve this. The strategy is based on intensive collaboration with the government, provincial authorities, municipalities, other network companies, the industry, companies, citizens and other relevant parties that influence the energy infrastructure in the Netherlands.

The energy system of the future

We do not yet know exactly what the energy system will look like in 2050. This depends on many factors: how society will develop and how, where and in what way energy will be generated and consumed, but it also depends on global energy prices, relationships between countries and the extent to which we want to be self-sufficient. All of this affects things like how much energy we import, how much we are willing and able to generate ourselves and which infrastructural modifications this requires in certain locations.

Alliander’s strategy

We performed a reappraisal of Alliander’s strategy in 2023. As a result, we will now be using seven strategic pillars that strengthen and complement each other. These pillars will see us maintain a strong focus on further scaling up the required network upgrades and expansions, making the power grid more flexible and scaling up and improving communication with the users and partners in the energy system in the upcoming period.

1. Excellent management: optimising maintenance and improving customer services

We service our networks smartly and efficiently, and we are a reliable partner for our customers and society. We communicate openly and proactively to ensure that they know what to expect in terms of completing infrastructure in their area, what the waiting times are, but also what alternative solutions would be if we are unable to fulfil all their wishes straight away. We make sure that we resolve and prevent faults, questions and complaints in a timely and targeted manner. Our work is customer-oriented and we ensure that our customers and partners have easy access to the required information to make choices that match their needs and fit within an affordable and reliable energy system.

2. Reducing demand for transmission capacity

We help our customers to make choices that limit the demand for transmission capacity. This cuts their energy bills and also ensures that the scarcity in terms of people and space can be used in the most effective way possible. It is important here that clear choices are made about which energy solutions are implemented at each location and at each point in time. This allows customers to make choices while knowing what will be modified in terms of the infrastructure in their area at certain points in time. It also gives contractors greater certainty for investing in scale up activities. This allows the timely purchase of space required for transformer substations, and allows the planning for various infrastructural modifications to be agreed with the local stakeholders in each area. It is important here that energy infrastructure is given a more prominent position in spatial planning and in the plans that are drawn up for places like residential areas and industrial parks. This requires coordination and clear choices at a provincial and municipal level, all the way down to district and neighbourhood levels. This will enable us to prevent unnecessary investments and successfully accelerate the required overhaul of the energy infrastructure by deploying people and resources in a targeted manner. Our efforts are also aimed at helping customers reduce their energy demand, together with partners and smart innovations. Solutions range from insulation to smart appliance controls, including behind a company’s or home’s energy connection.

3. Making better use of the network

In various locations in the Netherlands, the power grid has (almost) reached maximum capacity. By making better use of the network, we want to connect more customers in the years to come. This is why we are digitising the networks, which gives us more insight and control options, and allows us to handle the available network capacity with greater flexibility anywhere and at any given time. We are increasing the load on the network, but safely. Rather than focusing on contracts based on peak demand a few times a year, we are working towards flexible use and other relevant contracts. This requires new rules and incentives. Examples include tariffs that allocate the costs to where they are generated and simultaneously safeguard the general affordability and reliability of the energy system.

4. Completing more work

We will be scaling up the construction of network expansions and upgrades even further. To make planning processes more proactive, we are working towards an approach that is more area and district based. By organising space and permits at an early stage based on planning decisions, we will be able to create more connections and expansions using the same realisation capacity. We are also working on long-term collaboration models with contractors and suppliers. We are focusing on the further development of smarter processes to reduce the time lost during implementation and enable us to use our scarce workforce in a more targeted manner. We are increasing the number of available technicians by making engineering work more appealing in the sector and by making the transition of workers from other sectors easier. We are shortening training periods and investing in outsourcing extensive work packages together with contractors to make optimum use of the capacity in the sector. We are also focusing on making use of local installers to perform part of the work on behalf of the customers themselves.

5. Sharing data and developing new market services

Proactively making data and services available ensures that the energy market can function properly, customers can make choices beneficial to the network and we can balance supply and demand on a local level. Between now and 2030 we will therefore be making (more) asset and customer data available and offering it to customers as enriched data, so that they can control their own energy usage and make independent optimisation choices.

6. Developing infrastructure for heating and sustainable gases

Hydrogen and green gas will become important in our energy system. We are using the existing gas network to distribute these gases and to improve the energy system. We are adding more green gas to the gas network and making sure that supply and feed-in are possible. We will also be constructing new hydrogen networks from 2028. In addition, we are also constructing more district heating networks, both for existing buildings and new construction. We are working together with public authorities and companies to provide complete solutions, from design to management. We do this in neighbourhoods where it makes sense to use district heating networks and where a local heat source is present. This allows quick and large-scale use of sustainable heat and at the same time reduces the load on the power grid.

7. Future-proof foundations

Our organisation, our people, our working methods and our systems make up the foundations for implementing the aforementioned strategies. In the years to come, we will be investing in things like an integrated focus on results in the end-to-end value chains with our partners. We are agile and effective, and have a culture that prioritises safety, results, cost awareness, sustainability and inclusion. We are investing in an IT landscape and digitisation to provide maximum support for the scaling up of our work, the flexibilisation of our network and communication with and solutions for our customers, partners and stakeholders.