2024 was another year of record investment for Alliander, although further acceleration remains crucial for people’s home and working lives, general prosperity and well-being

5 March 2025

In 2024, network company Alliander invested just under €1.8 billion. For the sixth year in a row, more money went into expanding and maintaining gas and power grids. Power grid capacity was scaled up and flexible use created additional capacity on the existing grid. But not all businesses and consumers in Alliander’s service area felt this immediately. With it becoming increasingly challenging to keep growing and to complete implementation plans on time, there is a need to further accelerate. Alliander is doing exactly that by working smarter and by innovating, including in how we work together with contractors and in how we schedule our technicians’ work to make the most of the available capacity. On top of that, Alliander has teamed up with public authorities, companies and consumers to find solutions for faster capacity expansion and different and more efficient ways to use the existing grid.

Maarten Otto, CEO and Chairman of the Alliander Management Board: ‘With more people than ever and in a growing number of places, we are working to expand, maintain and change the way we use the energy network. At the same time, we increasingly find ourselves unable to meet our customers’ expectations. Last year, we once again had to disappoint businesses simply because the power grid in their area was full. Consumers are also increasingly feeling the consequences of that. In 2024, we launched yet more projects and got more done, but unfortunately we were less successful in completing projects on schedule. This was due to several reasons, such as the work turning out to be more complex than anticipated and a need for more specialist knowledge. But it was also because we are facing supply problems, including a shortage of transformer substations last year. We are therefore pulling out all the stops to work faster. Innovation is one of the ways to achieve that. We have, for example, adopted a smarter approach to scheduling our technicians’ work. By further digitalising processes, we can fit 15% more work into our technicians’ schedule and see a rise in job satisfaction among our colleagues.’

A lot already being done

By changing the way we work and working smarter, Alliander will be able to up the pace. At the same time, making better use of the power grid, increasing loads and being more flexible in how we consume energy will free up capacity on the grid. Last year, businesses signed 457 flexible contracts, committing to consuming less power at peak times. As a result, as many as 733 companies from the waiting list could be connected to the grid across Alliander’s entire service area. Initiatives were also launched to keep the energy grid accessible for consumers. These initiatives involve various energy providers joining forces with Alliander to develop time-dependent home battery charging and encourage smart EV charging at home, and these really help ease the pressure on the power grid. Public authorities have not been sitting still either. For instance, the Nijmegen municipality developed an assessment framework based on which they decide where to install new transformer substations. This has significantly cut the time it takes to find suitable locations for transformer substations when expanding the grid in a neighbourhood. They readily share any knowledge they gain along the way with other local authorities.

Maarten Otto: ‘The energy transition is irreversible and comes with major societal challenges for people’s home and working lives, as well as for general prosperity and well-being. Over the coming years, we are going to have to make some hard choices to be able to meet those challenges and prevent any new problems. In the short term, for example, we need answers to the question of where to install new transformer substations. While I appreciate that no one likes seeing another transformer substation installed in their street, there is no other way if we want to expand the capacity of the power grid. Getting that done asks something of us all. We will also have to make choices now for the long term. If, for example, we put off choosing where to build district heating networks, we will continue to be plagued by grid congestion and the system will become unaffordable. This is exactly why we have developed a natural gas-free homes blueprint for local authorities to help them decide where to roll out each energy carrier. It will prevent unnecessary investments and give local residents clarity on what they can expect in their neighbourhood, which will, in turn, enable them to choose how to make their homes more sustainable. There is also a need for innovation that enables us to reinvent the way we use energy and make smarter use of energy. Increasing numbers of our customers and partners have already adopted solutions and are helping to keep the power grid accessible. All these initiatives show that changing our collective mindset and habits is a truly effective way to accelerate. We are going to need a lot more of that over the coming years. Every day we manage to generate more speed will benefit companies, consumers and society as a whole.’

Affordable energy

Total investment, mainly attributable to maintenance and expansion of the gas and power grid, was €1,773 million last year, up €362 million compared to 2023 (2023: €1,411 million), as we again invested more than in previous years.

Walter Bien, CFO and a member of the Alliander Management Board: ‘Our continued drive to invest and build more comes with an increase in cost to society as a whole. Rising network management costs, for example, are reflected in higher energy bills. This affects businesses and consumers alike, and we feel responsible for it. We therefore critically examine our costs and keep our operations as efficient as possible. Besides expanding the grid, we all need to save energy as well and change how we use the available energy. By ensuring the best possible design of our energy system, we will be able to keep network management costs under control. In this respect, it is critical that we all make smarter and flexible use of the grid. Only if we pull together with our customers, partners and public authorities will we be able to make that happen.’

Financial results

In 2024, Alliander achieved a net profit of €976 million (2023: €267 million), or €219 million when not including the book profit on the sale of Kenter. Operating income for 2024 came in at €3,881 million (2023: €2,779 million). Not including the sale of Kenter, the negative cash flow amounted to €1 billion for 2024 (2023: negative cash flow of over €500 million). Walter Bien explains: ‘Net profit was up significantly, mainly on the back of one-off revenue from the sale of Kenter. At the same time, the negative cash flow continues to be a key focus point for Alliander.’ 

Work completed

In 2024, Alliander and its contractors carried out more work than in the previous year, in line with investments. At the same time, we were unable to complete all projects on schedule. The technical completion of projects was delayed due to issues such as problems in the material supply chain. This meant that the number of transformer substations installed and kilometres of cables laid was lower in 2024. A total of 2,029 transformer substations (2023: 2,207 transformer substations) were built or converted and 2,338 kilometres (2023: 2,518 kilometres) of new medium and low-voltage cables were installed. A total of 257 kilometres (2023: 304 kilometres) of gas pipes were installed. These are mainly replacements to keep the gas network reliable and safe. A total of 44,477 (2023: 43,626) low-volume connections to the power grid were created, as well as 841 (2023: 1,022) high-volume connections. As expected, the number of new connections for gas consumers dropped last year. A total of 1,989 (2023: 2,202) low-volume connections to the gas network were created, and 36 (2023: 56) high-volume connections. A total of 2,591 megawatts in new transformers was added to the grid (2023: 2,477).

For more details, see Alliander’s 2024 annual report