Some €8 billion a year is to be invested in expanding and strengthening the Dutch electricity grid from 2025, energy minister Rob Jetten has told MPs.

This year the government is putting €5 billion into boosting capacity and €6 billion in 2024.

The investment is needed to meet increased consumer and industry demand and to prevent bottlenecks in parts of the grid, Jetten said in his briefing.

The lack of capacity has been worsening for some time and the caretaker cabinet has decided to press ahead with the additional investment and other measures to speed up the expansion process.

In some cases, major users have been told that they cannot set up in business at certain locations because of the lack of capacity. This may also be the case for domestic users in parts of Flevoland, Gelderland and Utrecht by 2026, Jetten said.

As a priority, the cabinet wants to make sure more land is available for grid construction and to speed up the legal processes. One option, for example, would be brand grid expansion as being very much in “the public interest” which would allow planning procedures to be cut by some 18 months.

Measures are also being taken to encourage industrial users to reduce their consumption of electricity during peak periods and to boost the use of batteries.

Households and businesses are becoming more sustainable at record speed and this is putting increasing pressure on the grid, Jetten said. “Without action, this will have serious consequences for our sustainable ambitions and our economy.”