Business and politics meet at networking meeting ESNL
On Thursday, June 20, 50 participants traveled to The Hague for a network meeting of Energy Storage NL. During this breakfast session, speakers included Annemiek Hautvast, Director Netcongestion EZK, and Lower House members Suzanne Kröger (GroenLinks-PvdA) and Wytske Postma (Nieuw Sociaal Contract). In addition, the group visited the Lower House and a plenary debate, providing a unique insight into the world of politics and communications. The event was organized in cooperation with FME, ESNL's umbrella industry organization.
The meeting in Nieuwspoort was all about politics and communication. This gave entrepreneurs the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes of politicians. There was also ample opportunity for networking and questioning policy makers about current developments in the sector.
The day was opened by Jeroen Neefs (Director ESNL) and Willem Wensing (Manager Partnerships FME). They told about the cooperation between the industries and their own backgrounds as Public Affairs professionals.
EZK and MPs share vision on storage
Annemiek Hautvast of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate then took the audience through government plans within the National Network Congestion Action Program (LAN).. This program exists since the end of 2022 and includes several actions to accelerate the expansion of the grid, but also to use it smarter through energy storage. According to Hautvast, energy storage will play an increasingly important role in the new energy system. The LAN is considering ways to remove obstacles to market development, in line with other initiatives such as the Energy Storage Roadmap. Back in March, ESNL organized a working visit with some members to talk about this.
This presentation was followed by a conversation with the Chamber members present. They showed great interest in the sector and the entrepreneurs present. Wytske Postma (NSC) had previously attended the handover of the report "The Costs and Benefits of Battery Storage in the Energy System" by Kalavasta. She gave her views today on the importance of sufficient energy storage for the affordability of energy bills for households and businesses. According to Suzanne Kröger (GL-PvdA), the new energy system will be "decentralized where it can be done, and centralized where it must be done," and storage plays a key role in this. Both felt that a new cabinet should get to work on policy to cash in on the social benefits of energy storage.
"This has changed my view of the lobbying apparatus" - Network meeting participant
Visit to debate and House of Representatives building
In the second half, attendees left for the House of Representatives building. Volunteers from the CDA gave a guided tour and told about the history of the House building and how Parliament works. They also attended part of the plenary debate on Nitrogen, Agriculture & Fisheries.
The meeting concluded with a workshop "Politics and Communication for Entrepreneurs." From FME, Laurine Bonnewits (Public Affairs adviser) and Femina Hoekstra (spokesperson and strategic communication adviser) shared their expertise on the do's and don'ts of influencing policy and communication. Peter Oortmann (ESNL Advocate) shared a real-life case study from the industry, recounting the discussions around net energy storage tariffs.
The presentations from the Networking Meeting can be found behind the member login, via the knowledge base.
ESNL makes an effort to provide a variety of networking events and webinars for our members. For example, a networking event on safety took place in February and a webinar on Cable Pooling in May. Stay up to date on our activities via the newsletter, website and LinkedIn.
Questions or comments following this post? Please contact us at info@energystoragenl.nl
