Annual summary for 2019

1st quarter

27 January – A gas explosion at Jan van der Heijdenstraat in The Hague caused the front of a building to collapse and seriously damaged several homes. The explosion was caused by a crack in a gas main.

29 January – GOPACS platform launched. This initiative by the combined regional grid managers as well as TenneT is aimed at achieving a better balance between electricity supply and demand so as to prevent grid overload.

4 March – Drinking water company Vitens and Stedin sign a covenant. Combining activities underground results in less disruption for customers and leads to cost savings.

13 March – Joulz is sold to 3i Infrastructure, a powerful new owner. Job security of the roughly 150 employees is guaranteed.

2^nd quarter

3 May – The grid managers launch the 'Dig Safe' ['Veilig graven'] campaign aimed at preventing power outages and unsafe situations during garden maintenance.

20 June – NetVerder is a new name in Stedin Group. It covers the activities focusing on energy infrastructures apart from natural gas and electricity. In July, NetVerder is teaming up with housing associations and the municipality of Delft to install a heating network in the city.

25 June – Rozenburg, in the province of South Holland, becomes the first place in the Netherlands to see existing homes heated using pure hydrogen.

28 June – The Climate Agreement presented by the government receives unanimous support from the grid managers in the Netherlands. They endorse the aim of the Agreement and are concerned about the practical challenges that it involves, especially in view of the problems concerning a shortage of grid capacity.

3^rd quarter

10 July – Richard Moti, Rotterdam city councillor with responsibility for work and income, presented the 1,500th senior secondary vocation diploma (MBO) to the graduating classes of Stedin's in-house training school. A group of 169 students were awarded an MBO diploma. They are now working as fitters, helping to realise the energy transition in Rotterdam and surrounding area.

5 September – Stedin and research institute Kiwa examined how the gas network serving Stad aan ’t Haringvliet can gradually switch from natural gas to green hydrogen, which is then used to heat the 600 homes in the village. Stedin's existing gas network can be used for this purpose, eliminating the need to install a new network.

10 September – Zeeland becomes the first province to develop a Regional Energy Strategy (RES), ahead of any other region. The process enabling the strategy to be developed has been lauded. The grid managers (including Enduris) and the many stakeholders contributed through a series of sector platforms.

16 September – In the Hoog Dalem district of Gorinchem, several homes have been fitted with smart equipment that is actively regulated according to the energy generated by the homes and their energy usage. The aim is for the combined homes to regulate their consumption of the locally generated energy by exchanging it as and when needed.

30 September – The 10,000th connection for a gas-free new-build home was requested in September. In the third quarter, a total of 92% of all newly built homes in Stedin's service area were gas-free. As the same figure in the second quarter was 79%, it is a new record.

4^th quarter

10 October – Increasing the capacity of the electricity grid in the Port of Rotterdam can be done more efficiently and cheaply. This outcome emerged from a study by the Port of Rotterdam Authority, Stedin and TenneT into the implications of the energy transition. Demand for (green) energy from the industry in Rotterdam is set to increase significantly in the coming decades.

14 October – Minister of Social Affairs and Employment Wouter Koolmees paid a visit to Stedin's in-house training school. He was shown around by CEO Marc van der Linden. The Minister sat in on a class being given to residence permit holders who are being trained by Stedin and discussed Stedin's plans for Lifelong Learning. He also tested his technical skills in the switching centre.

18 October – All local authorities must have adopted a Transition Vision for Heat by the end of 2021. This vision sets out alternatives for gas-free heating and cooking within each district in the local authority's area. An information package helps local authorities to plan for these gas-free districts.

25 October – Demand for charging points for electric cars is set to double in the coming years. In Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam, Stedin is working with the municipal authorities and the charging station operators to develop an efficient ‘single operating routine’ working method. This method ensures that charging stations are installed quickly and at a lower cost.

6 November – Stichting Zeeuwse Publieke Belangen (Zeeland Public Interest Foundation) provides financial support to the GreenPort Brouwershaven project. This port will be the first harbour in Zeeland where electric ships can charge their batteries with sustainable energy.

11 November – Stedin Group issues its first green bond. The 500 million euros raised are linked to investments made by Stedin Group in sustainable projects. The green bond issue fits well into Stedin Group's strategy of making a contribution to creating a more sustainable society.

21 November – Stedin and other regional grid managers provide details of the mapping of their electricity grids as open data on their websites. This provision facilitates decision-making on the construction of solar farms or new-build areas, for instance, and allows parties to move more quickly in the project orientation phase.

2 December – Current affairs programme Nieuwsuur broadcasts an item on why the costs of managing the electricity grid will continue to rise in the future. Stedin CEO Marc van der Linden joins the programme on behalf of Netbeheer Nederland and explains that the energy transition costs money: 'It is a political choice as to how we want to divide these costs.'