Overview

• Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht sent a joint letter to caretaker climate minister Sophie Hermans warning that unclear changes to electricity connection priorities could halt ongoing construction.
• The cities request clear communication on the new rules, guarantees that active projects keep their grid access during the changeover, and inclusion in talks with ACM, Netbeheer Nederland and the ministry.
• ACM plans to issue a national prioritization framework on 1 January 2026, replacing local practices that currently give housing and small consumers precedence for connections.
• Utrecht officials say the upcoming framework will drop the small-versus-large user distinction, raising uncertainty over whether housing will still be prioritized.
• The warning cites risks to more than 160,000 planned homes plus facilities such as schools and EV charging in grids where large users have been wait-listed since 2022 and expansions may take six to eleven years.