Avoid rush hour: a hopeful story from Netbeheer Nederland
On Thursday, May 30, FHI celebrated the change of chairman at Van der Valk in Hoorn. With mutual expressions of gratitude, Dirk Stans symbolically took over the gavel from Willem van Raalte. Dirk Stans has been elected chairman of FHI for a period of four years.
This day is dedicated to the change of chairman. In addition, FHI uses the opportunity to surprise the attendees with two substantive presentations. Jacco Vonhof, MKB-Nederland, and Hans-Peter Oskam, Netbeheer Nederland, share their vision, concerns and entrepreneurial spirit with the public.
Avoid rush hour: a hopeful story from Netbeheer Nederland
Netbeheer Nederland is facing a huge task. The Dutch energy infrastructure was very progressive a hundred years ago. Today, the same cables are still in the ground in many places. They are adequate, in a sense, but are in dire need of replacement. Hans-Peter stands confidently on stage and says with an apologetic look: “We Dutch only solve problems when they are really, really big.”
The Netherlands is only now convinced that the problem is big enough. It is time to get to work. The grid operators are getting eight billion a year extra.
Hans-Peter opens his presentation with the statement that all entrepreneurs are energy entrepreneurs. They convert energy into products and services. The energy transition is therefore equivalent to an energy entrepreneurship transition. And the good news is that the demand for energy is growing so fast that the grid operator cannot keep up. The demand for energy is growing by 50 percent per year.
“The companies that will still exist in 2025 are the companies that are smart about their energy use and consumption,” says Hans-Peter. All entrepreneurs must be convinced that it is necessary to use energy smartly. Processes that require a lot of energy must be moved to off-peak moments. Both to keep the network going, but also because in the near future the grid operators will be looking much more strictly at the peaks and troughs in energy demand. Entrepreneurs are asked to think along and to respond to this. This takes time – which the Netherlands does not have – but above all it requires a change in behavior. “We can no longer all start up the factories at the same time on Monday morning.” This is where we have to “smarten up,” says Hans-Peter passionately. “We have to do it together. We need you.”
Finally, Hans-Peter tells us what he has learned: “There is no such thing as a cable that is too thick.” Space on the network attracts entrepreneurs. “We have to turn it around,” he sighs. “Supply does not follow demand. Demand follows supply.”
Nederlands