“The problem isn’t the energy grid, but how we use it,” argues Martijn Goossens, a specialist in building services and sustainability at the consultancy and engineering firm Arcadis, in this column for De Ingenieur.

The Netherlands is grinding to a halt. Businesses are waiting for connections to the electricity grid; a freeze on new connections has been imposed in the Utrecht region; housing construction is slowing down; and everywhere the same knee-jerk reaction is heard: we need to expand the grid. That is understandable, but it misses the heart of the problem.

The fact is, we do not have a structural shortage of capacity on the electricity grid when viewed over a 24-hour period. We have a system that copes poorly with peaks. The grid is not constantly at full capacity, but becomes overloaded at specific times. And yet we focus our solutions primarily on expanding and reinforcing the grid, rather than on making smarter use of what is already in place.

Compare it to traffic. If everyone hits the road at half past eight in the morning, gridlock is inevitable. We could widen the road, but if behaviour doesn’t change, the traffic jam will remain – just on a slightly wider motorway. That is exactly what we are currently doing with the electricity grid. We keep investing in more infrastructure, whilst using the existing system inefficiently.

The right question is not ‘How much additional grid capacity should we build?’, but ‘How do we prevent overloading the grid at the same time?’

The answer to that question is more obvious than is often realised: introduce dynamic energy prices. Offer people a dynamic energy contract in which the price of electricity changes by the hour or even every quarter of an hour, based on supply, demand, and the abundance or scarcity of electricity in the energy system at that moment. Not as a niche product or experiment, but as the standard for homes and transport. This would transform the smart use of electricity from a moral appeal into a matter of self-interest. We saw that this works during the previous energy crisis, when gas consumption fell sharply in a short space of time due to price incentives.

This is how the sensible use of electricity shifts from a moral appeal to a matter of self-interest

Martijn Goossensspecialist in building services and sustainability

Dynamic energy prices do not mean that everyone has to change their lifestyle. Above all, it means that smart systems do the work. Electric cars do not necessarily have to be charged at six o’clock in the evening. Heat pumps can generate heat in advance using a buffer tank. Using the washing machine or dishwasher can easily be postponed for a few hours without any noticeable loss of comfort. And by storing energy locally, peaks in electricity generation can be absorbed. Charging points, heat pumps, household appliances and batteries can adjust automatically to this, without users having to constantly manage them.

Not everyone can or wants to be flexible all the time, but that is not necessary either. If a sufficiently large group of people get on board, this alone creates enormous scope. Peaks determine the required grid capacity: by smoothing these out, disproportionately large gains can be made.

Grid reinforcement remains necessary: targeted, selective and for new developments. But the idea that this is the solution to grid congestion is a costly misconception. We are investing tens of billions and taking years to do so, whilst a significant part of the solution is already available today. Perhaps we should dare to admit it: the problem is not the grid. The problem is how we use it. And that is precisely where we can make a difference right now.

Text: Martijn Goossens is a specialist in building services and sustainability at the consultancy and engineering firm Arcadis.
Photo: Depositphotos