Temporary transformer creates capacity on Rotterdam’s electricity grid
A 500-megawatt transformer should give companies earlier access to the overcrowded electricity grid.
Companies in the Port of Rotterdam may be connected to the electricity grid sooner thanks to a temporary transformer. The installation is not expected to become available until the end of 2028 at the earliest, meaning the solution will not immediately clear the current waiting lists.
Grid operators TenneT and Stedin, together with the Port of Rotterdam Authority and business association Deltalinqs, have announced a temporary solution to grid congestion in the port region. A transformer in Europoort is intended to create capacity for companies and institutions waiting for a new or higher-capacity connection.
According to Stedin, the transformer will have a capacity of 500 megawatts. It will be installed at the site where a new 380-kilovolt substation is being built and will use a planned connection between an existing 150-kilovolt substation and the future high-voltage substation. This will allow part of the existing infrastructure to be used sooner.
The measure does not mean that companies can already draw additional electricity. TenneT must first calculate the temporary installation’s effect on the high-voltage grid. Stedin can then determine which customers on the waiting list for transmission capacity are eligible. According to the schedule, the first insights are expected by the end of this year.
The Port of Rotterdam and the islands of Zuid-Holland have been experiencing congestion for several years. As a result, companies seeking to electrify, expand or build new installations cannot always obtain a new or higher-capacity connection. According to Stedin, it will take until at least 2032 for permanent substations and connections to be completed.
The temporary transformer is part of a broader approach in which grid operators and companies are also examining flexible electricity use, temporary generation and better use of existing connections. The solution could accelerate the decarbonisation of port companies, but does not alter the need for structural grid expansion. It is not yet known how many companies will ultimately benefit.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The Port of Rotterdam is experiencing grid congestion.
- A temporary transformer may create capacity sooner for new or higher-capacity connections.
- According to Stedin, permanent grid expansion remains necessary and will take until at least 2032.
Left
Arguments The left will stress that public grid capacity must be distributed fairly and that decarbonisation must not be available only to large port companies. Schools, hospitals, housing construction and local energy generation should, in this view, be given full consideration.
Values Equality, public infrastructure, climate policy and the protection of essential public services.
Consequences A broader distribution may mean that some industrial projects wait longer, but prevents public services from being crowded out.
Centre
Arguments The centre will view the temporary solution as a pragmatic interim step alongside structural grid expansion. Priorities should be established in a technical, transparent and verifiable manner, with attention to security of supply and social value.
Values Reliability, feasibility, transparency and balance between the economy and the climate.
Consequences A combination of flexibility and new infrastructure can create capacity, but requires long-term investment and clear rules.
Right
Arguments The right will stress that companies need room to invest, electrify and preserve jobs. Faster permits, private investment and fewer restrictions on energy-intensive companies are seen as prerequisites for competitiveness.
Values Economic growth, enterprise, security of supply and international competition.
Consequences Giving greater priority to industrial connections could accelerate growth and decarbonisation, but could limit access for smaller companies or public institutions.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The technical solution and its limitations have been taken directly, in the publication’s own words, from Stedin’s publication. The article makes clear that the measure does not yet provide direct connections.
- confirmed A temporary 500-megawatt transformer is intended to create capacity on Rotterdam’s electricity grid. — Stedin specifies the transformer’s capacity and function. source
- confirmed The transformer will be commissioned at the end of 2028 at the earliest. — This is the schedule stated in Stedin’s publication. source
- confirmed The number of companies that can be connected sooner is not yet known. — Stedin says that the effects on the high-voltage grid must first be calculated. source
Editor's note
Stedin has confirmed the temporary transformer, its capacity of 500 megawatts and the expected commissioning date. The number of companies that will actually be connected sooner is still unknown.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- NU.nl — „rotterdam haven”
- De Telegraaf — „rotterdam haven”
- Trouw — „rotterdam haven”