Enexis achieves record expansion of electricity grid, but the future requires more flexible solutions
Grid operator Enexis completed a record amount of work in 2025. The company invested heavily in its energy networks: a total of €1.9 billion. This included laying 1,631 kilometres of low and medium-voltage cables, constructing 670 medium/ low-voltage substations, realising 1,260 MVA of grid capacity, and adding around 23,000 electricity connections. As a result, the electricity grid expanded faster than planned. Despite these record expansions and the additional capacity released, Enexis sees that the demand for transmission capacity is growing faster than it can build.
Rutger van der Leeuw, CEO of Enexis: “We are proud of the achievements we have delivered together with our partners. Our ‘Neighbourhood Approach’, in which we reinforce the grid district by district, is progressing successfully. Even so, the waiting list for reinforcement or new connections continues to grow — last year to over 10,000 requests from business customers. This is of great importance to us. From mid 2026, we expect that, households and small business customers will also be affected.”
Grid expansion, reinforcement and flexibility as a combined strategy
Van der Leeuw: “The speed at which we can expand and reinforce our grid has its limits. That is why we also focus on making better use of the existing grid. We do this by loading our assets more heavily — at times beyond their normal limits, but without compromising safety. In addition, we are increasingly utilising the grid’s inherent flexibility; there is still substantial potential here because the grid is not fully loaded at all times of the day. We see that these solutions are effective. In 2025, we unlocked 542 MW of flexible capacity — comparable to the annual electricity consumption of a city like Eindhoven. We achieved this through flexibility contracts, congestion management, the 100th blockpower contract and the first collective grid transport agreement (GTO). Business customers are increasingly aware that transmission scarcity can affect their operations, and that they must adapt to this new reality.”
In 2026, Enexis aims to connect companies on the waiting list under conditions requiring them to temporarily reduce or shift their consumption or feed-in during peak periods, so that it fits within the available grid capacity.
Households can also contribute
Van der Leeuw: “If millions of households adjust their energy use — for example, by charging their car or doing laundry outside peak hours — space is created on the grid and fewer expansions are needed.” Customer willingness to avoid peak periods is growing. Pilots with central control of hybrid heat pumps show reductions in the evening peak of 10 to 25 percent. Many public charging points are now suitable for grid-aware charging, and solar panel owners can be compensated for temporarily reducing feeding during extreme peak moments.
Financial foundation for tackling grid congestion
In 2025, cash flow from operations and investments resulted in a negative balance of €844 million (2024: €567 million negative). This means that Enexis spends roughly €2 million more per day on the grid than it recovers through tariffs.
To expand, reinforce and maintain the electricity and gas network, Enexis invested €1.9 billion in 2025. These investments are necessary to maintain a reliable energy system and to create additional capacity on the overloaded grid. To realise this, €1.5 billion was raised in 2025 through the issuance of green bonds. Thanks to our shareholders, we were able to adjust our dividend policy in 2025. By introducing an (indexed) cap of €100 million, we retain more funds within the company for the necessary grid investments and increase our borrowing capacity.
Net profit rose to €400 million (2024: €254 million), mainly due to higher customer tariffs in 2025. Revenue also includes an adjustment for previous years, with an impact of approximately €185 million on net profit.
You can find the Enexis 2025 annual report here.