Which type of flexibility suits me?
Not every business process can be adjusted easily. For some companies, being flexible requires more effort — but often there’s more room to manoeuvre than expected. The potential savings or compensation make that effort even more worthwhile.
That’s why it’s valuable to explore, together with your grid operator or a Congestion Service Provider, which form of flexibility your company can offer. This way, you’ll discover what’s practically achievable — and what it can yield.
Flexibility creates space on the grid. This can allow you to do more with your current connection, or get a (temporary) larger connection sooner.
Smart management of your electricity usage brings financial benefits. Think of compensation for flexibility or lower costs during negative or peak prices.
Grid congestion creates uncertainty. By participating in congestion management now, you help define the terms and stay in control.
Flexible power products can be divided into three groups. Start by seeing which group best fits your company, and then find the right product within that group. By exploring now which flexible contract types suit your business, you’ll be better prepared for the future.
You agree in advance to always provide flexible capacity at specific times. This makes your contribution predictable and ensures you know exactly what to expect. This category includes the CSC-T and the CLC-T.
You’re only called upon when the grid is really busy. This way, you contribute when it’s needed most. The products in this group include the CSC-A, CBC-A, the TDTR, and the mandatory bidding contract.
You decide when to offer flexible capacity. This allows you to benefit from compensation without fixed obligations. You do this through redispatch.
With every market request you are obliged to place a flex-bid. The income depends on market prices.
You offer flexibility whenever it suits you. Successful bids generate a fee per activated megawatt hour.
Your grid operator can inform you about all flexible contract types and products they offer. Ask your account manager about the possibilities or consult a flexibility specialist. For some products, you will also need a CSP. Your grid operator can tell you more about this.
Prefer independent advice or a party that takes all the work off your hands? Then consult a Congestion Service Provider (CSP) about the possibilities of flexible capacity. Not all CSPs offer the same level of support or services. TenneT’s CSP register provides an overview.
Whether you’re a producer or a consumer, we’re happy to think along with you. We’ll support you in taking the first steps, help you quickly connect with the right contacts, and guide you through the rules and opportunities of flexible capacity.
Fill out the form on the right, and our case manager will get in touch with you as soon as possible.
GOPACS is the joint platform of the Dutch grid operators for congestion management. We help keep the electricity grid reliable at times and locations where it risks becoming temporarily overloaded.
We do this by deploying flexible capacity in a smart way. When grid operators expect congestion, GOPACS brings together supply and demand for flexibility. Market parties can temporarily adjust their production or consumption. Through our platform, exactly the flexibility that is needed is activated: locally, at the right moment, and without creating new bottlenecks elsewhere on the grid.
GOPACS coordinates this process, matches bids based on real-time grid data, and always selects the most efficient solution. This creates room on the grid again, companies receive compensation for their flexibility, and the energy system remains balanced.
In short: GOPACS connects grid operators and market parties to solve grid congestion in a targeted, transparent, and cost-efficient way.
Flex bids are bids from market parties to temporarily adjust their electricity consumption or production at an agreed price. They form the basis of redispatch: the market mechanism grid operators use to resolve expected congestion on the electricity grid.
When grid operators expect the grid in a certain area to become overloaded, they initiate a redispatch request via GOPACS. A market message specifies where and when flexibility is needed.
Market parties — such as energy suppliers, CSPs, and large energy users — can respond with a flex bid. In this bid, they indicate how much flexibility they can provide and at what price, for example by temporarily producing less electricity, consuming more, or reducing their demand.
GOPACS compares and combines these flex bids and selects the most efficient solution to resolve the congestion, while ensuring that no new bottlenecks arise elsewhere on the grid. If a flex bid is accepted, the party temporarily adjusts its consumption or generation and receives compensation.
In this way, flex bids make redispatch possible: fast, targeted, and market-based congestion management.
Flexibility delivers more value than you might think. By participating in GOPACS, you not only help create space on the electricity grid. You also gain clear benefits. You contribute directly to the electrification and decarbonisation of the Netherlands, reduce costs, and strengthen your own operations.
Participation may require adjustments to your processes. That is why grid operators aim to make participation through GOPACS as attractive as possible:
Flexibility is needed both inside and outside congestion areas so that grid operators can maintain balance across the electricity system. GOPACS coordinates this intelligently at a national level. The result is a clear win-win: the grid remains reliable and future-proof, while you turn flexibility into certainty, capacity, and value.
No. Participating in flex bids through redispatch does not directly affect the order in which requests for additional transport capacity are processed. Grid operators use a fixed system for this: applications are handled in the order they are received. Taking part in flex bidding does not change that position.
What flex bids do contribute to is reducing or temporarily resolving congestion. Through GOPACS, market parties help smooth out peaks on the grid. This increases the available capacity on the network and can help relieve congestion areas more quickly.
All grid users ultimately benefit from this. In short: flex bids do not provide individual priority, but they do help make better use of the grid as a whole.
