The municipality of Utrecht is going to switch off the charging stations because the power has run out.
It can happen quickly, two weeks ago it was a trial balloon from grid operator Stedin with the call not to charge your electric car between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. Today it becomes reality in Utrecht, but not as a call.
The power in Utrecht has run out
That's how it is. Due to grid congestion on the power grid of the city of Utrecht, it is now almost impossible to provide companies with a new power connection. The power supply has already run out and the low voltage is also almost sold out.
About 90 percent of new construction projects are threatened because the power in Utrecht has run out. What good is a sustainable new-build house without power for your heat pump and induction hob? Build, build, build?
Councilor of Groen Links, Lot van Hooijdonk indicates in the municipal council that grid congestion is a serious problem. In Utrecht, everyone has started using solar panels en masse and driving an electric car because the government had to and now the grid is full.
There is no ready-made solution. Because the energy transition has not been anticipated, the steam network is not prepared for peaks in power demand and supply.
Destroyed by your own success
In this way the government is a victim of its own success. The power is not only out in Utrecht, but everywhere. We all had to use Hugo's heat pump (old-fashioned central heating boiler will soon no longer be allowed) and the electric lease car, but the charging stations will soon no longer be able to supply electricity.
Because that is the solution that the alderman is now proposing. He also read Stedin's call in the media and has now come up with the solution: we simply turn off the charging stations in Utrecht between 4:00 PM and 9:00 PM.
Now that doesn't really matter to the residents, who can charge all night long if the power grid has capacity, but there are also a lot of visitors in Utrecht. So they cannot charge during a dinner on the picturesque Oude Gracht.
Reduce capacity
The capacity of the charging stations is now being reduced to maintain space on the grid. As a result, it now takes longer in the afternoon and early evening to recharge your range in Utrecht.
The councilor still leaves open the option of keeping the charging stations available in the event of an emergency, but at a significantly higher rate. That feels familiar again, the car as a cash cow.
PvdA and Christian Union: ban EVs from the city
The PvdA and Christian Union are making it even more colorful in the municipal council. They are even in favor of denying electric cars access to the city in addition to cars powered by dinosaur juice. Thinking out of the box is what they call it at those parties.
We just call that crazy. First tell everyone that you have to drive electric, because then you can still go into the city, and then say “oh no, I'm not kidding…”
The power is not only in Utrecht
The power is now out in Utrecht, but this is of course also the case in other cities. Soon you will only be allowed to enter the city centers without emissions, so buy an electric car or bus, but you will no longer be able to charge there because there is no electricity. Nice work everyone!
Another reason for everyone to exchange their electric car for one with a fuel engine. Because a solution is not yet in sight. Strengthening the power grid in the old city centers such as Utrecht and Amsterdam, for example, is not that simple.
As a company, you would have just signed up for the tender to install 1,000 charging stations in Utrecht. The payback period seems to us to be a lot longer if the municipality turns off your charging station during the busiest time of the day, but that's besides the point. Something about a reliable government?
This article The power has run out in Utrecht: charging stations must be switched off first appeared on Autoblog.nl.
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