Electricity balance sheet; supply and consumption
Explanation of symbols
Table explanation
This table shows the supply of electricity. Consumption of electricity is calculated from the supply variables. The supply of electricity primarily includes production plus imports minus exports. The majority of the electricity produced is supplied to the public electricity grid by, for example, power stations and wind turbines. A smaller part is generated by companies themselves for the benefit of their own business processes. For example, many greenhouse companies generate their own electricity for the lighting of their greenhouses.
The net production is determined as gross production minus the own consumption of electricity. Own consumption is the amount of electricity that a producer or installation consumes during electricity production. The net production is broken down in this table into the following energy sources from which the electricity is produced: nuclear energy, coal, petroleum products, natural gas, biomass, other fuels (non-renewable), hydro power, wind energy, solar photovoltaic and other sources.
Imports and exports are further broken down by country of origin or destination.
The total net consumption of electricity in the Netherlands is calculated as the net production plus imports minus exports and distribution losses.
Data available:
From 1936 per year and from 1976 per month only the total production, imports and exports are known.
Full data per month is available from 2015.
Status of the figures:
- All figures up to and including reporting year 2022 are definite.
- Figures for 2023 are revised provisional.
- Figures for 2024 are provisional.
Changes as of November 20th of 2024:
This table has been revised for 2015 to 2021 as a result of new methods that have also been applied for 2022 and 2023. This concerns changes of a maximum of a few PJ of the total supply and consumption on an annual basis. In addition, the figures for exports to Belgium in the first quarter of 2000 have been revised. Previously, exports to Belgium in the first quarter of 2000 were booked entirely in February. This has been corrected and divided over the months of January, February and March.
Changes as of October 31st of 2024:
Figures for August 2024 have been added.
Changes as of October 1st of 2024:
Figures for July 2024 have been added.
Changes as of June 7th 2024:
Revised provisional figures for 2023 have been added.
Changes as of November 14th 2023:
Figures of 2015-2020 have been revised. The revisions relate to the introduction of an improved analysis method in 2022, which has been carried back to 2015. The most remarkable diffrences are in 2018. In this year the relative difference on a monthly basis are up to 15%. However, on a yearly basis the numbers remains constant.
When will new figures be published?
Provisional figures: the second month after the end of the reporting period.
Revised provisional figures: June of the year following the reporting year.
Definite figures: not later than November of the second following year.
Description topics
- Gross production
- The total amount of electricity generated in the Netherlands. This is without deduction of the own consumption of the installations with which the electricity was produced.
- Own consumption for electr. production
- The amount of electricity that a producer or installation consumes during electricity production.
- Net production
- The total amount of electricity generated in the Netherlands minus the own consumption of the installations with which the electricity was produced.
- Net production, total
- Nuclear energy
- Energy released by nuclear fusion.
The energy is used to heat water, which is transformed into high pressure steam. This is used to generate electricity through a steam turbine.
- Fuels
- Product of which by means of combustion energy is extracted.
- Fuels, total
- Coal
- Coal consists of hard coal, brown coal (lignite) and coal products. Hard coal and brown coal are solid fossil fuels that exist of carbonized rests of vegetal origin. The carbonization is a result of prolonged exposure to high temperature and pressure. The most important coal products in the Netherlands are coke-oven cokes, coke oven gas, blast furnace gas and coal tar. For the production of electricity in the Netherlands hard coal (steam coal), coke oven gas and blast furnace gas are used.
- Petroleum products
- Liquid and gaseous fuels that are made of crude oil and natural gas liquids.
Some examples of petroleum products are motor gasoline, gas and diesel oil, kerosene, fuel oil, LPG, naphtha and residual gases. For the production of electricity in the Netherlands residual gases and some other petroleum products is used.
- Natural gas
- Gas of natural origin that mainly consists of methane. It arises from the same process that leads to the formation of petroleum. Natural gas is liquefied for transport over long distances by ship.
- Biomass
- Substances derived from vegetable or animal material of recent origin and used for the production of energy. Examples are wood, manure and waste from the food processing industry.
- Other fuels (non-renewable)
- The non-renewable part of household and industrial waste.
- Hydro power
- Energy produced by flowing or falling water.
- Wind energy
- Wind energy, total
- Energy produced with wind turbines
Wind turbines can be placed on land, inland waters and off shore.
Off shore is more expensive. However, there is more wind at sea. In addition, placing off shore wind turbines is often considered less problematic from the landscape point of view.
- Wind energy on shore
- Wind energy on shore and inland waters.
- Wind energy off shore
- Energy produced with off shore wind turbines.
Off shore electricity production from wind energy started in the autumn of 2006.
- Solar photovoltaic
- Energy form the sun converted into electricity.
- Other sources
- Examples are expansion turbines (in which gases expand under high pressure, as a result of which the turbine produces electricity), (residual) steam, feed water
- Imports
- Electricity that enters the country via the high-voltage network. The Netherlands has direct connections with Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom, Norway and Denmark.
- Imports, total
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- Norway
- Exports
- Electricity that leaves the country via the high-voltage network. The Netherlands has direct connections with Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom and Norway. A connection with Denmark is under construction. This will be put into operation according to plan in 2019.
- Exports, total
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- Norway
- Distribution losses
- Total distribution losses, including physical losses due to the transport of electricity and administrative losses due to fraud, measurement errors and administrative deficiencies.
- Net consumption (calculated)
- The total net consumption of electricity in the Netherlands is calculated as the net production plus imports minus exports and distribution losses.