‘I see 2023 as a transition year’

For the chair of the Supervisory Board, these four years have also been marked by a new Board of Management and a new strategy: construction, utilisation and management. ‘I see 2023 as a transition year for the period we are now facing.’ A good enough reason for Doede to extend his chairmanship for another four years last May.

‘Spade in the ground’

‘We are up to speed and can really pick up the pace now,’ Doede continues. He can therefore identify with the theme of this annual report: ‘Further accelerating’. ‘With the new strategy, the Board of Management has brought clear focus to Stedin’s course going forward: faster construction, better utilisation and continuing to ensure proper management. I notice that this focus also involves the adoption of a more businesslike approach. You can have wonderful visions of the future and ideals about how you would like to shape the energy transition, but in the end it’s all about putting that spade in the ground and building.’

Challenge is more apparent than ever before

A clear strategy and the financial resources to implement it. With these elements in place, accelerating would seem to be the next logical step. ‘Unfortunately, the reality is different,’ the chair of the Supervisory Board explains. ‘The challenge in terms of staffing and materials is now more apparent than ever before. Not to mention the search for suitable locations for new transformer stations, or the time it takes to obtain permits.’

Huge development

Grid congestion was one of the topics the Supervisory Board wanted to delve into more deeply. ‘You can see the red areas on the map advancing towards the south-west. Stedin is still managing to hold up pretty well, but it’s a huge development. We need to ensure this issue does not become something that simply happens to us: the question is how we take action on it, how we communicate about it, and how we address it in our relations with stakeholders. A key part of that is that the Supervisory Board is well informed.’

Giant plug

The site visit was a visit to a transformer station Stedin is developing in a field on the outskirts of Houten for renewable energy generation, sort of a giant plug. ‘The station is bigger than I thought, almost the size of an entire block of houses. A good experience to see with your own eyes, but it also made me realise that we are going to need many more of these and other transformer stations in the coming years and how much planning and work that will entail.’

Looking ahead

That brings us back to the challenge facing Stedin in the coming years. Doede looks ahead: ‘We are now fully focused on implementation. But some matters will nonetheless have to wait a while longer. We will need to keep doing a good job of explaining that. In addition, we want to properly manage the process of the State joining as a new shareholder.’ When asked whether he thinks the new political dynamics will bring major changes, Doede’s response is emphatic: the majority of Dutch people consider the energy transition to be of great importance. What we are doing is necessary and I foresee no change of course.’