A grid operator, in Dutch netbeheerder and under the Energiewet increasingly systeembeheerder, is the party appointed by law to operate an electricity or gas network. It connects users, transports energy, maintains and expands the network and administers the metering data. It may not itself produce or supply energy.
Statutory basis
The tasks and the independence requirement follow from the Energiewet, which continues the unbundling regime introduced by the Independent Grid Operation Act. TenneT operates the national high-voltage transmission system and Gasunie Transport Services the national gas system; the regional distribution systems are operated by Liander, Enexis, Stedin and a few smaller operators. Tariffs and conditions are not negotiable: they are set by the ACM in the Tarievencode and the technical codes.
How it works in practice
A connected party has no choice of operator – the operator follows from the location. The relationship is therefore largely regulatory rather than contractual: the operator owes a connection, and the applicable tariffs and quality standards are fixed. Disputes about interruptions, damage or refusal of transport are brought before the ACM as regulator or before the civil courts, and the operator is subject to a statutory compensation scheme for long interruptions.
Where it goes wrong
Clients often treat the operator as an ordinary counterparty and try to negotiate delivery dates or damages. In practice the operator is bound by the codes and can only prioritise within the framework the ACM has laid down. A second problem is the boundary of responsibility: the operator is responsible up to and including the connection point, and everything behind it, including the private network of a business park or a rented building, is the user’s own risk. That boundary determines who bears the loss when equipment fails.
Related terms
Grid congestion, connection and transport agreement and Energy Act.
Is the operator refusing or delaying capacity, or is there a dispute about damage? Our energy lawyers assess your position under the Act and the codes.
