As of July 1st, the power grid in the Utrecht region is locking down. No new connections, no capacity upgrades. And today it has become clear: Utrecht is not alone. Grid operator Liander has announced that households in Friesland, Flevoland, Gelderland, and parts of South Holland may face waiting lists of up to three years. 7,300 households are already waiting. This news creates uncertainty for homeowners looking to make their homes more sustainable and save money with a heat pump. However, the situation is more nuanced. The good news: WeHeat heat pumps work on a standard 1-phase connection. No application needed. No upgrade required. No waiting list.
What is happening?
State Secretary De Bat (Climate and Green Growth) has confirmed it: the power grid around the city of Utrecht is locking down. This affects the area between Breukelen, Vianen, and Driebergen, which includes the city of Utrecht, Nieuwegein, and surrounding municipalities. After July 1st, all new applications for a connection or capacity upgrade in this area will be placed on a waiting list. This also applies to private individuals who want to upgrade their home connection from 1-phase to 3-phase.
But the problem is larger. Liander, responsible for connections in Gelderland, North Holland, Friesland, Flevoland, and parts of South Holland, has been warning since 2023 that the power grid in residential areas is reaching its limits. Now, households in those regions are being affected as well. Liander director Sarike van Wette states: "Our message is that not everything is possible everywhere anymore." The number of applications for a heavier connection rose by more than 50 percent this year compared to last year: from 18,000 to 27,500 applications in the first five months alone.
The cause is structural: the grid is overloaded, particularly during the evening peak. Two new high-voltage substations need to be built—one near Breukelen and one north of Utrecht. These may not be ready until 2031. The municipality of Utrecht estimates the economic damage of the total freeze at 75 to 225 million euros per year.
What does this mean?
The connection freeze only blocks new connections and capacity upgrades. Existing connections will not be disconnected, of course. If you already have power, you keep it. And that is exactly the point. Installing a heat pump in an existing home is, in most cases, not a matter of needing a new connection or an upgrade. It is a matter of choosing the right heat pump.
WeHeat heat pumps operate on a standard 1-phase connection. This is the connection that the vast majority of existing Dutch homes already have.
WeHeat heat pumps can actively adjust themselves during moments when the grid is at capacity. This is unique for a heat pump. In several neighborhood-level projects, WeHeat heat pumps can already communicate with the smart meter via P1 Smart Loadbalancing, automatically adjusting the power demand per unit. You don't have to do a thing.
Your home as an energy buffer
The smart software layer ‘WeHeat Intelligence’ goes a step further. The software learns when electricity is cheap or readily available and then charges the thermal mass of your home—floors, walls, and the domestic hot water tank. That heat storage system can reach up to 56 kWh in an average 1950s terraced house.
The result: during the evening peak, when the grid is under the most strain, the heat pump barely needs to run. The heat stored during the day does the work. You stay comfortable. The grid gets a break.
For example: a WeHeat user from Zeist saw his energy costs drop by 29%. His self-consumption of solar power increased from 17% to 51%. And he doesn't have to do anything himself. The heat pump handles it automatically.
WeHeat heat pumps are not just smart grid ready, they are ‘Grid Active’. Other heat pumps wait for a signal from the grid. WeHeat anticipates it. Through 4G connectivity and 121 real-time parameters, the heat pump adjusts itself without any intervention from the resident or installer.
Always seek advice from an installer
1-phase works fine for most existing homes. However, there are situations where it is more complex. For higher power requirements (from approximately 7 kW), in poorly insulated homes with high heat loss, or when combined with a charging station and induction hob simultaneously, 1-phase may not be sufficient. Therefore, always ask for advice. A professional installer check is always a smart move. Every home is different. Proper coordination in advance prevents disappointment later. A certified Weheat installer will assess what suits your specific situation.
What does this mean for the affected regions?
Many people think they can no longer make their homes more sustainable. In many cases, that is not true. The connection freeze affects those who want to upgrade their capacity, not those who can manage with their existing connection. That applies to a large portion of the Dutch housing stock. Terraced houses, semi-detached homes, and linked houses from the sixties and seventies almost all already have a 1-phase connection. And they have concrete floors and domestic hot water tanks that retain heat.
“When I open the newspaper, the energy transition sometimes seems like a list of what isn't possible. But at Weheat, we always look at what is possible. The connection freeze is no reason to wait. It is a reason to make the right choice. We build heat pumps for a world with a congested power grid. That has always been our starting point.” - Liselotte Graas, Co-founder Weheat
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Do you live in one of the affected regions and want to know if a heat pump is suitable for your home? An official Weheat installer in your area will check what is possible. Free and without obligation.
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