MPs call attention to energy storage in grid congestion debate
On Wednesday, Feb. 28, the Lower House Committee on Economic Affairs and Climate debated new measures against grid congestion. The debate continued an earlier discussion in January. During the debate, several motions called for more attention to be paid to barriers to flexible solutions such as battery storage, electrolysis and energy hubs.
Social costs and benefits in network tariffs
One of the topics discussed was net energy storage tariffs. Several MPs called on Climate and Energy Minister Jetten to look fundamentally differently at the tariff structure. This should include what incentives net tariffs offer to ease the load on the electricity grid. In addition to the earlier proposal for an alternative transmission right on the high-voltage grid, which allows a time-dependent discount of up to 65% to be offered to TenneT affiliates, Kröger (PvdA-GroenLinks), among others, called for the social costs of grid congestion to be included in tariffs.
During the debate this week, Member Erkens (VVD) submitted a motion requesting the Minister to enter into discussions with the ACM about reducing network tariffs for electrolysis and battery storage, provided that these technologies are deployed in locations where they contribute to reducing grid congestion. In a response, the minister stated that while it is an exclusive competence of the ACM to set network tariffs, it is very useful to include these types of societal interests. The minister will brief the House by letter in the second quarter on progress.
Energy Storage NL has often made this point in discussions with grid operators and the ACM. The call is therefore not only to look at the costs incurred for connecting additional energy storage, but also the benefits it generates in the system. We are working along the lines of the Energy Storage Administrative Consultation September 2023 with member companies and stakeholders on a study to identify these benefits.
Queue requests under the spotlight
In addition to rates, much attention was paid to the queue for transportation requests. In responding to questions by Bontenbal (CDA) it became clear that the number of requests in the queue has continued to increase since the summer. Most of this growth can be attributed to affiliates seeking to expand their existing connection. Some of these requests are also attributed to duplicate requests or "zombie requests.
In the debate, Erkens (VVD) introduced a motion requesting that grid operators ensure that more information available ask about available connection capacity. It also called for the application process to be modified by grid operators, if desired, so that it is less non-binding and duplicate applications can be avoided and taken out of the queue. Jetten: "I can actually fully support all the considerations. There are also ideas among the grid operators about how the waiting lists can be cleaned up."
For ESNL, it is important that there is a realistic picture about the share of energy storage in the transmission request queue. However, we do stress that grid operators should engage in dialogue with the industry before they are given powers to forcibly remove requests from the queue. Therefore, we support the initiative to create more insight into the queue and offer to help think about possible solutions.
Location determination increasingly important
Both the minister and the MPs stressed the importance of realizing energy storage in the right locations. It was also announced that the Ministry of Economic Affairs is working on a framework for placing batteries. Among other things, this may have implications for the licensing of energy storage. ESNL is in discussion with relevant stakeholders about this and provides input where desired, for example through our recent member survey into licensing experience.
On Tuesday, the various motions and proposals will be voted on.
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