The Dutch day-ahead top-bottom (TB) spread, TB2, has averaged €91k/MW/yr since January 2025, level with Germany and 69% above Great Britain. That spread stems from two price regimes set by solar and gas. Yet only 0.6 GW / 1.3 GWh of utility-scale BESS operates in the Netherlands today, against 7.6 GW / 12.5 GWh in Great Britain. Scaled for the country's peak demand, the battery fleet (MW) in the Netherlands is more than 4 times smaller than Great Britain.

The grid connection charges are one factor why the battery buildout lags. TenneT, the TSO in the Netherlands, charges €116k to €150k/MW/yr for import capacity, depending on voltage level. A battery has to pay that bill unless it agrees to a Time-Dependent Transport Rights (TDTR) contract which cuts the bill by up to 62%. In exchange, TenneT can impose restrictions with one day's notice, for up to 15% of the year.

If there's specific research you'd like to see on the Netherlands, reach out to the author: emiel@modoenergy.com

Key takeaways

• The Dutch day-ahead TB2 spread averaged €91k/MW/yr from January 2025 to July 2026, level with Germany and 69% above Great Britain. The spread is widening: €83k/MW/yr across 2025, €102k/MW/yr over the first seven months of 2026.
• The spread is driven by solar, swinging prices from a midday floor to a gas-set evening peak. Rooftop solar in the Netherlands is not exposed to day-ahead prices. That volume can push the market to the EU-wide floor of -€500/MWh.
• TenneT charges €116k/MW/year at extra-high voltage (EHV) and €150k/MW/year at high voltage (HV), regardless of location within the Netherlands. Both are charged purely on grid imports. This has been the main barrier to battery development.
• Time-Dependent Transport Rights (TDTR) reduce that bill by up to 62%: a 43% reduction from the contracted-capacity discount, plus a reduction of up to 19% from timing dispatch into the network's lowest-weighted hours.
• TDTR has been an attractive route for BESS to connect, with a buildout due to hit 4 GW / 14 GWh by 2028.

Grid connection charges have risen sharply, TDTR brings relief

TenneT's grid connection charges are the single biggest barrier to Dutch battery deployment. They more than tripled between 2021 and 2024, reaching as much as €116k/MW/yr for Extra High Voltage (EHV) and €150k/MW/yr for High Voltage (HV).

TenneT's grid has spare capacity most of the year, outside a handful of peak hours. In a standard contract, access is firm or year-round. The TDTR contract has offered an alternative since October 2025. It guarantees 85% of transport capacity across the year, and for the other 15%, TenneT can impose constraints with a day's notice. For this non-firm connection, TenneT will reduce the annual grid charge by up to 62%.