Introduction of Alternative Transport Rights in the Netherlands

To address this, numerous public and private initiatives are taken to battle grid congestion. One of the initiatives taken by the Dutch energy regulatory body, the Authority Consumer and Market, or ACM, is the introduction of Alternative Transport Rights, or ATRs (also called 'non-firm ATOs'). Traditionally, grid operators only may offer a connection with a fixed capacity to their users, meaning that a certain volume of electricity needs to be available 24/7 (so-called 'firm ATO'). This results in unused available transport capacity (rest capacity) during non-peak hours.

Under ATR's, rest capacity of the grid on non-peak hours can be utilised. In consideration for flexibility, users will get a discount on transport fees to be paid to the grid operator.

Currently, two types of ATRs will become available:

1.  Time Duration Transport Rights (TDTRs): the user will have the agreed volume for at least 85% of the time calculated in hours per annum. This means that for a minimum of 7,446 hours per year, the contracted capacity will be available to the user. For the remaining 15% of the time, the contracted capacity may be limited based on daily forecasts. If the capacity is available, the grid operator may not downsize the available capacity. The user will be informed of (limited) availability ultimately on gate closing time of the day-ahead market.

2. Time-Block-Based Transport Rights (TBTRs): the user will have the agreed volume during a certain fixed time block. Such fixed time block will be at non-peak hours but can be further tailored between the grid operator and the user based on available capacity. A 24-hour pattern is possible, but also a week or month pattern may be agreed upon.

For now, due to technical constraints, TDTRs will only be available on the high-voltage grid and TBTRs will only be available on the regional grids. The availability of ATR's is limited to parties having a high-capacity connection to the grid (larger than 3 times 80 ampere).

The grid operators have been allowed to offer TDTRs as of 1 February 2025 and TBTRs as of 1 April 2025. Both unfortunately have been delayed by the grid operators due to technical difficulties: TDTRs should be available as of 1 October 2025. It is currently unclear when TBTRs will become available: interested parties are being asked to make themselves known to their regional grid operator (DSO) for further information.

With ATRs set to become available later this year, understanding these developments early can help your business secure the capacity it needs and manage energy costs more effectively.

Please feel free to reach out to our team if you have any questions or would like to discuss how this might affect your projects.