Dutch electricity grid company Tennet has warned that the Netherlands is facing a looming electricity shortage and says that outages may well break official limits from 2030.

At the moment, power cuts because of a shortage of electricity are extremely rare but that is set to change, Tennet said. The current maximum is four hours per year but from 2030 shortages may lead to a loss of power of 4.5 hours a year and that could go up to 12 hours in a worst case scenario.

The reason for the looming crisis is two-fold, Tennet said. On the one hand, demand for electricity is increasing as people switch away from fossil fuels. On the other, less electricity is being generated from sources which can be adapted quickly when demand increases – such as coal and gas.

In addition, with coal, gas and nuclear power plants closing across Europe, the Netherlands will be less likely to get support from its neighbouring countries if problems arise, Tennet said.

‘It is therefore crucial that action is taken to make sure the market remains flexible on both the demand and supply side,’ Tennet said.

‘The aim to achieve the climate goals, with reduced dependency on fossil fuels, will only be realistic with strong European cooperation,’ COO Maarten Abbenhuis said. ‘This raises new challenges that will require more and more attention in the coming years.’