CEO's foreword

‘Why is this taking so long?’, a resident complained to one of our fitters who was replacing the old jute wiring in the resident's doorway. A time-consuming job. The fitter, who worked in accordance with our fixed protocol, scratched his head. Yes, perhaps this could in fact be done faster. In his free time, he devised a new method, and this worked in practice. His method was five times faster. And it also proved to be more reliable.

This is just one example from our day-to-day working practice of how our people make a difference and how we go resiliently forward – the theme of this annual report and essential to the steps we are currently taking. I took up my position as CEO in June 2021. What I found was a proud company with vast stores of professional expertise. A company that rightly works in accordance with fixed protocols. Improvising is usually not desirable, due to safety concerns. We will therefore never compromise on safety: the level of safety and reliability at Stedin is very high. That does not come about by itself, and we maintain a continual focus on this.

At the same time, the energy transition also calls for flexibility, daring choices and stepping away from the beaten path. Our task is to find an appropriate balance, within the possibilities provided by the law, between ensuring the grid's reliability and advancing its development. Only then will we progress and be able to meet customer demand. In recent years, we have invested substantially in smart grid management. We have taken the initial steps and now want to accelerate to enable us to reap the benefits sooner, with a grid that is able to cope with the growing demand.

Resiliently forward certainly also applies to the key theme in 2021: the energy transition. The COVID-19 crisis notwithstanding, the energy transition clearly remained in the spotlight. This year, congestion occurred for the first time in our Stedin grid. This is an issue to which we are devoting a great deal of attention,

and we are doing all we can to limit that congestion. The developments concerning financing were positive, and we took major strides in this area. We are grateful for the trust in us shown by our shareholders. In the years ahead, together with them, we want to look at how we can face the financial challenges of the energy transition.

After all, whichever way you look at it, more resources will be required to achieve the climate goals. If we do not have enough money, and if more room and flexibility are not provided under laws and regulations, we will simply not be able to keep pace with the energy transition. As far as we are concerned, that is an undesirable situation. In addition to financial and other resources, we will also need enough good professionals and available materials. We need help from others in order to achieve all this. Resiliently forward together is therefore the key motto. Together with public authorities, market parties and customers. Only together can we ensure that there is sufficient financing, that permit and other processes advance smoothly and that we provide the best possible services to our customers.

Besides the energy transition, another major transition is under way within Stedin: the integration of DNWG on 1 January 2022. From that day, the province of Zeeland was coloured in yellow, Enduris became Stedin and we became a single large Stedin Group. Preparations for this have gone well so far, we can take pride in that. I hope we will continue to learn from one another. We cordially welcome our Zeeland colleagues!

Huge steps have already been taken this year to go resiliently forward; I therefore look ahead to 2022 with great confidence and energy.

On behalf of the Board of Management
Koen Bogers

The Board of Management of Stedin Group. From left to right: David Peters, Koen Bogers, Danny Benima, Trudy Onland