From grid congestion to resilience: flexibility accelerates the mobility transition

Challenge: grid congestion limits access to electric mobility

The Netherlands aims to switch to electric driving, but grid congestion is a constraint. TNO research shows that limited capacity on the electricity grid can delay the rollout of public charging infrastructure.

This constraint does not affect all groups equally. The allocation of grid capacity and the availability of a private charging option largely determine who can and who cannot switch to electric driving. Meanwhile, households are expected to make that switch themselves, even though this depends heavily on accessible and reliable charging facilities.

Many people currently charge at home, but according to research by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), demand for public charging points will increase significantly. This is where the pressure arises: due to grid congestion, it is uncertain whether new charging points can be connected in time—partly because of ACM (Authority for Consumers and Markets) decisions on gridcapacity prioritisation.

Laadwerk, which is responsible for implementing public charging infrastructure in North Holland, Flevoland and Utrecht, also recognises this issue.

Unequal access to electric driving

Where grid capacity is limited, such as in the province of Utrecht, the impact is uneven. Households with a private driveway can charge at home, while residents without private parking depend on public charging points. This latter group faces additional barriers if public charging infrastructure lags behind:

• Fewer or no charging points nearby
• More crowding and longer waiting times at existing charge points
• Higher costs, for example through reliance on rapid chargers
• Less ability to benefit from favourable (dynamic) tariffs

According to the ANWB, higher costs and uncertainty can make people more reluctant to switch to electric driving.

Why equitable access matters

Good and fair access to charging infrastructure is essential. The Council for the Environment and Infrastructure (Rli) emphasises that everyone must be able to participate in the transition. This strengthens public support and helps achieve climate goals. At the same time, a reliable electricity grid remains a precondition.

Decisions on the allocation of transmission capacity and the prioritisation of connections have a direct impact on municipalities, grid operators, chargepoint operators, and on residents of apartments and neighbourhoods without private charging options.

Integrated insight and practical next steps

TNO combines system knowledge of electricity grids and markets with socioeconomic insights to support policy and delivery. Concretely, we help with:

• Access and distributional analyses: mapping differences between groups and assessing policy options
• Technical and operational advice: assessing load and flexibility on the lowvoltage grid and defining scenarios for smart control
• Roadmaps for public charging infrastructure: site selection, phasing and cooperation with grid operators under gridcongestion conditions

From insight to implementation

With clear insights into accessibility, realistic grid constraints and practical delivery, public authorities, grid operators and market parties can accelerate the rollout of public charging infrastructure without excluding groups.

TNO provides direction and evidence through data analyses, technical-operational advice and roadmaps that take grid congestion and distributional effects into account, so that the transition to electric driving is feasible and accessible.