Energy sector

TenneT maintains relations with various parties on the Dutch electricity market. The roles of these parties are explained below.

Programme-Responsible Parties

Any party that has one or more connecting points to a grid bears programme responsibility for these connecting points. This means that the party concerned (referred to as the Programme‑Responsible Party or PRP) is supposed to draw up programmes relating to the expected electricity supply to the grid and the expected consumption from the grid. These Energy Programmes are supplied to TenneT on a daily basis. TenneT and the other grid administrators ensure that the actual production or consumption is measured on the day after the day of operation and that the sum of each individual PRP’s production or consumption is reported to TenneT. TenneT settles the differences between the volume agreed on in advance and the actual measured volume. If a PRP does not adhere to the Energy Programmes, this will result in an imbalance and will have financial consequences (imbalance settlement).

APX

In May 1999 the Amsterdam Power Exchange (APX) was put into operation. The APX is an electronic trading platform where electricity can be bought and sold. Not only the producers and distributors are active on this platform, but large companies and professional traders as well. Consumers are not allowed to trade on this exchange, so in this sense the APX cannot be compared to the Amsterdam stock exchange (AEX) or the electronic stock market NASDAQ.
The APX Group, with its head office in Amsterdam, is a group of international exchanges for short-term trading of electricity and gas in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom. N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie owns 25.5% Of the shares; the other 74.5% are held by TenneT Holding B.V.
The core activity of APX in the Netherlands concerns the spot market for electricity, involving anonymous day-ahead contract trades (for next day delivery) on an electronic trading platform using an auction system. The exchange provides for the financial settlement of the contracts and publishes a daily price index, among other things.

Regional grids

The regional grid administrators construct and maintain connections for customers and carry out the transmission of electricity (at voltage levels of 150 kV or less). They also install, maintain and manage the transmission and distribution grids to ensure that energy suppliers can always meet the ever‑changing energy needs. Regional grid administrators are impartial, so they can guarantee non‑discriminatory access to third parties.

Electricity production

In the Netherlands, electricity is mainly generated from petroleum, natural gas and coal. Some energy is generated in a sustainable manner, namely from renewable, ‘inexhaustible’ sources such as solar and wind power. The most important sources of sustainable energy in the Dutch electricity supply system are biomass and ambient heat.

Traders in electricity

Traders in electricity try to buy and sell electricity at prices that are as competitive as possible. A number of suppliers and producers now have their own trading floors; others outsource the process to external parties. The traders buy their electricity directly from the producers, via energy suppliers or on the APX.

Metering companies

Any party that purchases electricity from our grid is responsible for the correct and timely registration of its measurement data and must report these in a timely manner to the grid administrator. The customer concerned is free to fulfil this metering responsibility itself, provided that it is authorised to do so by TenneT. Customers can also outsource their metering responsibility to a third party that is recognised by TenneT as a party with metering responsibility. The duties of metering companies include installing and maintaining meters as well as reporting meter readings.