Our contribution to general prosperity 

The energy transition poses major challenges for the Netherlands. The energy transition receives its direction from the climate targets for 2030 and 2050, i.e. to make the energy supply in the Netherlands more sustainable, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to increase energy independence. Bottlenecks are arising in this transition, such as grid congestion and delays in district heating projects that are slowing progress. As an energy company, we have great impact on these developments.

Making our grids more sustainable and expanding them for the energy transition contributes to general prosperity.

The energy supply was further electrified in 2024, primarily as a result of increased network feed-in from non-fossil, decentralised energy sources. The total capacity of connections for renewable energy was up 10% to 8,247 MW for solar energy and 1,830 MW for wind energy. At the same time, demand for electricity transmission rose on the back of growing electric vehicle adoption, people switching to heat pumps and economic development. For the first time in years, gas distribution volumes were up, beyond Alliander’s control, which lead to an increase in climate-related emissions and sets us back in terms of achieving the targets from the Climate Agreement.

Targeting general prosperity 

General prosperity concerns the quality of life in the present and the extent to which today’s quality of life impacts negatively on the general prosperity of future generations and/or people elsewhere in the world. Focusing on value across a broad spectrum in an organisation such as Alliander means that, among other things, we need insight into the internal value drivers and management instruments. The aim is to use that insight to gear our operations and strategies towards achieving positive social impact. This focus goes beyond merely measuring output. It extends to understanding and advancing the intended impacts and reducing the unintended impacts of our operations on society. In 2024, we took further steps in this direction. By targeting general prosperity, we are including social impact in our decision frameworks and contributing to the worldwide climate objectives, as agreed at the Conference of the Parties (COP) in 2015, to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 and to the development of general prosperity, as measured in the General Prosperity in the Netherlands monitor.

Impact model: general prosperity measured 

We offer transparency on our social impact by attaching a monetary value in euros to our key positive and negative impacts on society in our impact model. We measure impact on a social level: our share in social issues. We are aware that while our impact may be limited at group level, it can still be experienced as a major impact on an individual level, such as in the case of an accident or rising energy bills.

Cross-industry collaboration 

Alliander, Gasunie, Stedin, Vitens, Enexis and ProRail are working together on developing a harmonised model for measuring social impact. Among other things, we are using a handbook for this with additional information about measuring and reporting on biodiversity, ecological damage through procurement of materials and the impact of work-related sickness absence and accidents. We update this handbook annually and adjust the impact assessments at industry level accordingly, while also tying in with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

General prosperity and SDGs

Alliander’s activities contribute to achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the member states of the United Nations in 2015. These 17 Sustainable Development Goals aim to put an end to poverty, inequality, injustice and climate change by 2030. The Netherlands has also committed to achieving these goals. The government, politicians and companies are currently working out their contribution in more concrete detail. Impact measurements are used to calculate the extent to which our activities affect society. These show us whether we have achieved our business objectives and how we are contributing to the SDGs. By being transparent about our calculations and measured results, we can actively involve our stakeholders in our developments, the contribution we make to the SDGs and our value creation in a broad sense.

SDG	Description	Indicators
	As an energy network operator, we play a vital role in guaranteeing a safe, affordable and constant availability of sustainable energy. SDG7 largely coincides with our mission and strategy. We see opportunities and challenges for the proper regulation of the heating market and energy storage, flex-markets, the technical and regulatory feasibility of smart connections, system integration and the prevention of network problems. Together with our supply chain partners, we want to continue making a contribution to a sustainable energy supply system at low costs.	Financial capital Manufactured capital Natural capital Intellectual capital
	We work non-stop on ensuring a safe and fair working environment for all our employees and an inclusive corporate culture.	Human capital
	Every day, we focus on making our networks suitable for the requirements of the energy transition. We facilitate customer choices, make maximum use of digital opportunities, actively create open networks and do our work efficiently. The speed of the energy transition creates new challenges that require us to continuously innovate and invest in our network. We support our customers in the built environment in switching to a sustainable energy system.	Manufactured capital Intellectual capital Financial capital
	The agreements in the Regional Energy Strategies (RES) and the elaboration of the Dutch Climate Agreement in combination with social initiatives lead to concrete strategies and district plans. Our task is to assist municipalities in this process and to programme and implement changes as well as possible. By enabling energy feed-in and connecting a growing number of charge points for electric mobility, we are also contributing to the sustainability of our cities, towns and communities.	Social capital
	We are acutely aware of the impact of our operations on the planet, and strive to make our business operations climate-neutral and circular.	Natural capital
	Climate change leads to our assets being subject to changing physical conditions, such as drought and flooding. We are giving increasing attention to how to respond and adapt to the consequences of climate change in relation to the energy network and our assets.	Natural capital

Most significant results in 2024

• Electricity feed-in to our networks continues to grow. At the same time, however, income from feed-in is falling slightly for individual connections.

• The well-being perceived by consumers for having access to gas and electricity fluctuates greatly in step with prices in the energy value chain. In 2024, the well-being value was up for gas and fell slightly for electricity.

• The fact that we are sharing more data in the public domain is driving up the positive impact value for users.

• Since the ecological cost of procured materials and products is down, the impact on natural capital is also down, despite increased investment in our network. The increase in gas and electricity transmission led to higher climate costs.

• For the second year in a row, Alliander measured how the work done by employees contributed to their development, which showed that the impact was considerable in 2024.

• The indicator of work-related sickness absence and safety incidents was up on 2023.

Our Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility report

Alliander follows the six capitals model of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). Using this model, we quantify and monetise the impact where we can make the largest contribution to society, both in terms of our direct activities and in the value chain. We have described the other indicators qualitatively and made an estimation on the basis of external sources. Value chain impacts are effects for which parties in the value chain are jointly responsible. For principles and calculations, see the accountability document.

Details of our impact measured in 2024

The section below provides an explanation of the positive and negative impact on each type of capital. Collaboration with the other energy network operators has increased intercomparability of the indicators for human, manufactured and natural capital. For the first time ever, we are reporting on our impact on biodiversity within the land we own, thus broadening our insight into our impact on natural capital.

Our impact model

Capital value decrease

(€ millions)

Capital value increase

Financial capital

Sale of business premises

919

i Other revenue

81

All revenue that cannot be directly attributed to Alliander’s core activities. Examples are subsidies and the leasing of buildings. A negative correlation exists between other revenue and financial capital.

i Contributions received

128

Every year, Alliander turns to third parties to balance its budget.

i Change in cash and cash equivalents

252

If Alliander’s position in cash and cash equivalents increases (or decreases), this reduces (or increases) the impact of alternative social spending options.

i Tax

Direct taxes (income tax, sufferance tax) and indirect taxes (customers’ profits/wages as a result of Alliander’s activities and the energy tax that customers pay) have a positive impact on society.

i Loans raised and repayments received

1,445

Alliander withdraws cash and cash equivalents from the capital market and receives repayments and interest on outstanding loans. These cash flows withdraw funds, which as a result cannot be used for other (social) projects.

i Dividends, repayments and interest

1,207

Every year, Alliander pays money to investors in the form of dividends to shareholders or repayments with the associated interest to creditors.

i Payments by customers (business)

976

Total invoiced costs to business customers for the use of our services. Cash and cash equivalents that are paid to Alliander cannot be spent on other activities.

i Payments to employees

617

Alliander generates social value for employees and agency workers by paying out salaries and social security contributions.

i Payments by customers (households)

1,978

Total invoiced costs to consumers for the use of our services. Cash and cash equivalents that are paid to Alliander cannot be spent on other activities.

i Payments to suppliers

3,399

Alliander uses many incoming capital fl2,885ows to procure goods and services. This has a positive impact as these cash and cash equivalents can be released and used for social goals elsewhere.

Manufactured capital

i Contribution of heating transmission to consumer well-being

2.0

The contribution of heating transmission to the social value which heating consumption represents for consumer well-being (heating and warm water).

i Value of goods procured for electricity transmission

1,446

The value of the goods purchased and the network losses which Alliander incurs when facilitating electricity transmission.

i Contribution of solar energy feed-in to well-being

157

The feeling of well-being experienced by consumers due to the possibility of feeding in solar energy to the electricity grid.

i Value of goods procured for gas transmission

373

The value of the goods purchased and the leakage losses which Alliander incurs when facilitating gas transmission.

i Value of energy transmission for business customers

905

The contribution of energy transmission to the value which energy represents for the production of goods and services by business customers.

i Value of goods procured for business customers

490

The value of the goods purchased and the network losses which Alliander incurs when facilitating energy transmission for business customers.

i Contribution of gas transmission to consumer well-being

1,300

The contribution of gas transmission to the social value which gas represents as a source of consumer well-being and comfort (heating, cooking). The occurrence of outages diminishes the positive value.

i Change in economic value of traditional assets (internal)

Change in value of Alliander’s assets according to the annual figures and the balance sheet movements. This includes the net increase in value as a result of new investments and depreciation.

i Contribution of electricity transmission to consumer well-being

2,894

The contribution of electricity transmission to the social value which electricity represents for consumer well-being (use of household appliances, electric transport, lighting). The occurrence of outages diminishes this positive impact.

Intellectual capital

i Development of new market models and open platforms

New market models and open platforms have a value in terms of their positive impact on the economy and the environment.

i Technological development

New technologies which can be employed in the future have a value in terms of their positive impact on the economy and the environment.

i Change in value of intangible assets

Changes in intangible assets, consisting of goodwill and licences

No impact quantified

i Value of data collection for market facilitation

1.3

Increase in data availability, for example consumption patterns at the district level, which Alliander can use to assist market players in providing their services and products.

Natural capital

i Environmental damage due to waste

0.1

This impact depends on the waste’s destination. The majority, including the metals, is recycled. Part of it is incinerated, including many types of dangerous waste, and a small part, such as bitumen, is dumped. The Reuse programme is an example of how to reduce this impact.

i Environmental damage through procurement of materials

28

This impact reveals the ecological damage in the production chain last year for the four largest asset groups: cables, meters, gas pipes and transformers.

i Climate change due to CO2 emissions

269

CO2 emissions contribute to climate change. Alliander facilitates energy transmission to the end user from sources that are not always sustainable. The energy transition limits this negative impact. In addition, Alliander uses energy for housing, mobility and network losses and leakages. The target is to achieve climate-neutral operations in 2023. Not only have emissions been reduced, they have also become greener.

i Further environmental impact

In the case of some activities, this type of impact is calculated and recorded separately (for example, the ecological damage caused by procurement of materials). This item represents the part that has not been quantified, such as the production chain of used natural gas for heating or the impact of the construction and maintenance of substations on biodiversity.

No impact quantified

Social capital

i Contribution to social cohesion in the Netherlands

Activities to support, among other things, citizens’ initiatives in favour of decentralised energy generation or collective energy procurement can have an impact on social cohesion at a regional or national level.

i Contribution to social cohesion in communities

Investments in community initiatives can have an impact on social cohesion at a neighbourhood level, for example, as a result of activities by the Alliander Foundation and activities in neighbourhood projects in the field of energy and sustainability.

i Contribution to improved institutions and regulations

Contribution by Alliander directed at adjusting regulations to optimise the impact of energy distribution.

i Digital security: privacy breaches

The safety risks inherent to the management of personal data by Alliander and the energy suppliers.

i Value of change in reputation of Alliander

9

Changes in stakeholders’ perceptions can influence Alliander’s reputation both positively and negatively.

Human capital

i Safety incidents in immediate environment

Accidents related to electricity and gas transmission lead to a loss of years of healthy life. Alliander has insufficient reliable information to be able to quantify this impact.

i Economic value of labour

The time and attention that Alliander employees devote to their work cannot be invested elsewhere.

i Employee development

108

The value of the development of knowledge and skills among Alliander employees.

i Work-related sickness absence and employee accidents (safety)

0.9

Work accidents and work-related illnesses are linked to a loss of years of healthy life. Well-being acquires a statistical value, with partial loss of well-being if an employee is physically or mentally unwell.

i Well-being effects of having work

97

The value work provides by improving personal well-being as a result of social contacts, greater trust in society, self-esteem and fitness for work. The greater the satisfaction of an Alliander employee, the greater the impact.

Capital value decrease

Capital value increase

Quantified in € millions

Not quantified in € millions

Financial capital: investing in future-proof networks

Relationship with SDGs

The aim to ensure universal access to affordable, reliable energy, as per SDG 7, is explicitly stated in our mission statement. Our impact is reflected by the investments we make to meet the demand for capacity, feed-in and renewable energy transmitted through our networks. We aim to keep the social cost of accessing energy as low as possible. Our impact on SDG 9 is reflected in our activities to build a future-proof energy infrastructure and our use of innovative techniques, such as in hydrogen projects. We invest in local and regional energy networks that support the necessary shifts in supply and demand patterns.

Impact

Financial capital is a source of broad value creation. We use a significant part of our financial capital to contribute to the energy transition, the regional economy and employment. In 2024, our investments in our energy grids totalled approximately €1.8 billion. Our suppliers received payments for goods, services and assets in 2024, which generates work and income for other parties. Due to increasing investments, payments to suppliers were up 15.2% to €3.4 billion in 2024.

Workforce growth in 2024, a pay rise under the collective labour agreement and a change in our pay and job classification system pushed up salary payments by €78 million. Our impact on taxes remitted is €52 million due to a higher profit for 2024. On the other hand, financial contributions from both consumers and business customers, and capital raised have increased.

Manufactured capital: shift to electricity

Relationship with the SDGs

Achieving timely access to energy for our customers is our daily priority. This contributes directly to the level of well-being and prosperity that customers perceive, as envisaged by SDG 7.1. Energy distribution and transmission are the core of our manufactured capital and reflect the value that energy has for our customers. We are working on increasing the share of renewable energy in accordance with SDG 7.2 and contributing to SDG 9.1: develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure. In doing so, we support economic development and well-being in our service area, with a strong emphasis on affordable and open access to energy for all.

Impact on consumers

Our main impact on manufactured capital for households is the well-being perceived as a result of having access to and the availability of energy. We analyse this impact by looking at the distributed volume, the price and the willingness of households to pay for energy. According to economic theories, the value of a product to a customer is at least equal to the price paid, but this value may be greater if the customer’s willingness to pay is higher than the price charged. New insights and changes to our calculation model for manufactured capital have revealed a significant difference in the impact for the ‘well-being value of gas’ indicator compared to what we published in the 2023 annual report. The comparisons we make in this section are all made based on the new calculation method.   

For 2024, we see an increase in the value of well-being perceived as a result of having access to natural gas. With distributed gas volumes up 16.4% on 2023, the trend of falling transmission volumes due to relatively mild winters and price uncertainties now seems to have been bucked. The perceived well-being value rose by 15.1% compared to 2023, totalling €1,300 million in 2024. Customers purchased more natural gas on average, 

which may have been due to a colder-than-normal spring, the energy cap for consumer prices in 2024 and the effects of the average inflation rate. Perceived well-being effects of having access to heating fell by roughly a third, partly due to a rise in natural gas consumption and higher costs of heating from district heating networks. 

The total volume of electricity distributed to consumers rose by 3.8%. Perceived well-being as a result of having access to the electricity we transmit showed a small decrease of 1.6%, falling to €2,894 million. This drop came mainly as a result of rising electricity prices, which reduces the impact. The well-being consumers experience as a result of their ability to feed solar energy to the grid was up 238.7% on 2023, again due mainly to rising electricity prices. As a result, households without solar panels saw their electricity spend increase significantly, leading to a growing difference between electricity costs for households with and without solar panels. The impact due to the number of connections with solar panels rose by 14.1%. Income from feed-in for individual connections has been falling slightly since 2023 due to energy price developments, including energy feed-in costs and fees.

Impact of business connections

The total value of energy transmission for business connections rose from €715 million in 2023 to €905 million in 2024. This increase is largely the result of growing revenue from electricity sold to business customers (+26.5%), while the contribution of gas revenue growth in the business customer domain remained virtually unchanged.

Intellectual capital: value of market-facilitating data

Relationship with the SDGs

Digitalisation of power grids is essential for the energy transition. New models for business and markets and the use of renewable energy lead to knowledge and data on these developments. This knowledge and data is intellectual capital that can make a positive contribution to issues around the energy transition, raw materials and implementation. Transparency, innovation and collaboration are key concepts for denoting intellectual capital. We associate the indicators for intellectual capital with industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9). They are reflected in our activities to build a future-proof energy infrastructure and our use of innovative techniques, such as in hydrogen projects. Participation in international initiatives aimed at knowledge sharing and technology development and application is associated with SDG 7.4.

Impact

Impact of projects

Our Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility report paints the overall picture of our impact on the six capitals. In order for our management focus to be guided by impact, we also need insight into the impact of the choices we make, often together with stakeholders, for the energy system, the alternatives there are and the accessibility thereof. Every year, we perform multiple impact analyses for planned projects or options that contribute to the decision-making process. After the notes to the six capitals, we will present three current cases with a specific impact on our operations and our environment.

Natural capital: rising climate costs, favourable development of circular materials

Relationship with the SDGs

Alliander applies SDGs 7, 12 and 13 to quantify the negative impact of its operations on natural capital in the form of raw materials usage, waste, effects on biodiversity, air, water and soil quality, and effects on climate change. We contribute to international greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in order to comply with agreements and scenarios to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. We do not yet measure the quantitative impact of actions designed to achieve climate change adaptation at the level of our assets, SDG 13.

Impact on climate costs

Impact on eco-costs

For the years to come, we expect to see further growth in our work package, which is likely to boost the need for materials. This puts the availability of materials under pressure and, as a result, the associated eco-costs. We are attempting to curtail the rising eco-costs by focusing on circularity, reuse and efficient procurement of materials.

We recycle or reuse about 85% of the weight of our waste (2023: 82%). Due to rising incineration costs for the remainder of our waste, the impact has increased slightly, even if the total waste volume has remained the same. The total impact of waste in eco-costs was limited: €0.1 million. The average eco-costs per kilogram of disposed materials were down 16% on 2023, primarily as a result of lower eco-costs for incineration of non-hazardous waste streams.

Biodiversity impact

For the first time, we measured our impact on biodiversity. The biodiversity impact indicator quantifies the impact of our land use as a monetary value and the effect our activities have on biodiversity at our own sites. With this indicator, we have added a new natural capital metric to our model. Our land use has a negative impact on biodiversity, which is reflected in the natural capital. The impact is measured against the reference situation where the land is not used at all and its biodiversity is equal to that of nearby, unspoilt, natural vegetation. Depending on the type of land use, the natural state of biodiversity decreases to varying degrees. Targeted policies can also improve conditions for insects, birds and flowers, among others, and thus improve biodiversity. One example of what we are doing to improve these conditions is applying the principle of ecological mowing at part of our technical facilities. For 2024, we have calculated a total net impairment of biodiversity caused by our land use of €1.2 million for our sites.

Social capital: proactive role in debt assistance and positive reputation development

Relationship with the SDGs

Our social impact is expressed in our connecting role. In the Regional Energy Strategies, we are the connecting factor between government bodies, energy companies and community initiatives. Within the framework of a collaborative planning process, we focus on meeting energy infrastructure needs and creating sustainable cities and communities in line with SDG 11. Participation and connectedness are important values in an open, inclusive and democratic society, and nurture the trust individuals have in each other and in institutions. Alliander attaches great importance to participation and inclusion in its activities, in particular in the energy transition. 

Impact

Following on from our exploration of social capital in 2023, we conducted a qualitative pilot to gauge the impact of our disconnection policy in 2024. The previous exploration revealed that we can profile ourselves more emphatically and focus on connection and participation in our working methods, for example, through direct interaction at district level and by making better use of the practical knowledge of value chain partners.

How stakeholders perceive and value our performance is part of the social capital. We have been measuring the value of reputational change in our model for several years now. This value indicates how our reputation has developed in comparison to that of similar companies. Positive reputation development is beneficial for collaboration, employee recruitment and customer satisfaction. The measurement for 2024 shows an increase in the calculated value for Alliander. Across the whole of the benchmark, this metric shows an increase in the average reputation value of European utility companies. This goes towards explaining the rising impact. Aside from that, we have seen a sharper increase for Alliander against the benchmark, caused by the growth in revenue. The impact came in at €9 million (2023: €5 million).

Human capital: employee well-being and development

Relationship with the SDGs

Our impact on decent work and economic growth (SDG 8) is reflected in our positive contribution to employment, the well-being of employees in the Netherlands and our efforts to positively influence working conditions and workers’ rights in the Netherlands and elsewhere. Our procurement and tendering policy focuses on encouraging suppliers to apply corporate social responsibility. Anyone who carries out work on our behalf must meet the same safety standards that we use ourselves. In our labour market policy, we pay special attention to specific groups. As a result, we contribute to SDG 8.5: achieving full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including young people and people with poor employment prospects, based on the principle of receiving equal pay for work of equal value.

The major challenges of the energy transition are creating lots of job opportunities. Our workforce grew by 745 people in 2024. The impact of accidents also increased.

Impact of well-being effects of having work

The ‘well-being effects of having work’ indicator for our employees remained virtually flat if we exclude the effect of inflation and the growing workforce. Employee satisfaction fell slightly by 1% on average. Overall, the impact increased from €84.1 million in 2023 to €97.7 million in 2024.

Impact of work-related sickness absence and employee accidents

Long-term work-related sickness absence or safety incidents have a dampening effect on the positive value of being in work for our employees. The work-related sickness absence and employee accidents impact indicator rose from €850,000 in 2023 to €996,000 in 2024 (+17%). This rise came partly as a result of work-related absence due to physical and mental problems. The number of absence days was down slightly, possibly thanks to a targeted focus on sickness absence.

Impact of employee development

In 2023, we measured the impact of employee development for the first time. Alliander measures this impact because it provides an opportunity to better gauge the dynamics between job quality and staff shortages. For some time now, there have been major shortages of technicians and other profiles in the labour market. Employees are more critical of their work and consider opportunities to develop as an important part of job quality. This makes the potential growth employees can experience in their work a factor by which an organisation can set itself apart from the competition. A total value of €108 million was created in 2024 through the development of skills and knowledge gained by employees in 2024. This is more than in 2023, when this impact amounted to €92 million. This impact calculation is based on career advancement, measuring the development of employees who have actually been promoted. Calculating the impact in this way comes with the limitation that the development of employees who stayed in their current jobs is not measured. This makes it a conservative calculation method. Employees who advance in their career generally become more productive, which is beneficial for Alliander and for society when employees continue their careers elsewhere. The percentage of employees who continue to work for Alliander is also important when calculating the development of employees. Alliander’s annual staff turnover rate of 11.1% is relatively low compared to the Dutch average of 17.0%. This produces a positive impact result for Alliander.

Case study

Quick scan of the use of gas-powered generators to meet peak demand 

The energy transition and economic growth are placing demands on the power grid that far exceed the available capacity. Despite large-scale investments by network operators, customers cannot always be connected to the grid within the usual time frames. This affects economic activity, decarbonisation efforts and housing construction. In many regions, this lack of space on our crowded power grid will endure for several years to come. To be able to serve more customers in the meantime, it is crucial that we find a way to cope with localised peaks in demand for capacity. Using gas-powered generators is one way we can meet peak demand.

Situation and study question 

Gas-powered generators offer a readily available technical solution to overcome local capacity problems caused by shortages on the overhead high-voltage grid, and to connect customers to the power grid sooner than would otherwise be possible. By identifying the impact of the use of gas-powered generators and what the most favourable impact situation would be, the organisation can align its choices accordingly. The case study looked at the impacts that occur when delaying new connections for businesses, because they are often the most affected by capacity problems and therefore unable to create economic value. A temporary freeze on new power grid connections keeps companies from starting up, scaling up, electrifying and/or going sustainable. The use of gas-powered generators comes with both direct and indirect impacts, such as the costs incurred to run the generators and the air and noise pollution they cause. At the same time, however, using gas-powered generators makes it possible to connect companies to the grid faster, leading to job creation and income for those companies, for their employees, for energy suppliers and for Alliander.

The generators do not need to run continuously. For some of the time, peak demand can be met using energy from other sources in the grid, such as wind power. The impacts of getting businesses connected to the grid faster were identified in three scenarios. These scenarios affect noise, climate change, air pollution and generator fuel costs differently. The scenarios: 

1. Connecting customers in a profile-neutral way: the energy consumed by new customers or extra energy that existing customers want to use is generated exclusively by gas-powered generators. These generators run at full load for much of the year. 

2. Optimisation in collaboration with TenneT: customers get energy that comes partly from the grid and partly from generators. TenneT specifies when additional capacity is needed, assuming that the additional capacity will be 100% wind power that TenneT would otherwise scale back. The generators run approximately four times fewer hours at full load during the year. 

3. Reference: no temporary use of gas-powered generators, meaning that the companies involved will not have access to (additional) capacity until 2029. The social impacts described do not occur.  

Key results 

Outcome: In relative terms, the positive impact of the use of gas-powered generators is greater than the negative impact.

• The negative impact of the use of gas-powered generators on the climate, noise levels and costs for Alliander is, in a relative sense, much smaller than the positive impacts on the economy and job creation.

• The use of gas-powered generators can have a positive effect on the economy. 

• Every additional MWh facilitated adds an average of €3,499 to the Dutch gross domestic product. 

• Alliander only indirectly influences the economic impact companies have. The impact per MW is generated mainly by the companies themselves, aided by the capacity made available by Alliander. Only a small part of this impact is attributed to Alliander.

• The costs involved in the use of gas-powered generators can amount to over €500 per MWh per year.

• The use of gas-powered generators contributes to climate change, air pollution and noise pollution.

• Emissions avoided because the use of gas-powered generators facilitates electrification at customers connected to the grid were not taken into account in this analysis. After all, these emissions are only avoided after the grid has been upgraded.

Use of the quick scan results 

The results of the quick scan study are used to adopt a ‘smart’ approach to the use of generators when having to make choices in how to deal with grid capacity constraints, by offering options in various cases and discussing the impact of choices. In the case of so-called ‘flex tenders’ involving the use of gas-powered generators, this is optimised in partnership with the operator of the national high-voltage grid, TenneT. The quick scan provides additional information for this purpose. When planning and designing temporary measures, there is a keener focus on more optimal ways to use gas-powered generators, such as using a generator during an outage or maintenance work, but not as a permanent solution. Having the two scenarios analysed in the impact study has helped raise awareness of and forge a perspective on this issue within the organisation. The recommendations from the study point to the importance of clear guidelines for the use of gas-powered generators, assessment of the desirability and cost-effectiveness of the use of gas-powered generators on a case-by-case basis and the general value of accelerated electrification in combination with future avoided emissions by covering shortages using gas-powered generators. 

Comparative impact figures for 2023

The tables below show the comparative figures for the reporting year and the previous year. In the case of the previous year, two values are listed each time. These are the values reported in the annual report and, where applicable, the recalculated figures. Any corrections to prior-year figures are explained below.

The 2023 figures for manufactured capital have been adjusted following an update to the impact model. It is crucial to understand how changes in price elasticity affect the impacts. The impact on electricity is relatively minor (10-20%). The impact on gas is considerably greater (approx. 50%). The new price elasticities lead to a drop in manufactured capital. Additionally, a new measurement of sources of renewable energy has a positive impact on the district heating networks (+€0.5 million) and on the feed-in of solar power, causing the indicator to change from €27 million to €46 million.

Financial capital

Manufactured capital

Intellectual capital

Natural capital

Social capital

Human capital