ROTTERDAM, 14 October 2026 – Most Rotterdam housing projects scheduled to start construction before 1 April 2029 are expected to receive electricity capacity from grid operator Stedin. The decision removes an important source of uncertainty from developments including Rijnhaven, M4H and the first projects in Rotterdam's Oostflank, although pressure on the electricity grid remains a major constraint elsewhere in the city.
Grid capacity secured for most housing projects
Rotterdam has received more certainty about whether planned homes can actually be connected to the electricity grid.
Stedin has assessed projects submitted under the national Onder handen werk scheme, which is designed to protect housing developments that are already well advanced but risk becoming stuck because of electricity-grid congestion.
The Rotterdam municipality says the large majority of its qualifying housing plans can now move forward with the expectation that the homes will receive electricity capacity, provided the projects continue to meet the scheme's conditions.
One crucial requirement is that construction must genuinely begin before 1 April 2029. Stedin defines the start of construction as actual building work, such as driving foundation piles, rather than preliminary site preparation.
The picture fits Stedin's wider assessment across its service area. Of more than 270,000 homes submitted under the national transitional scheme, the grid operator said in October that there was currently sufficient local network capacity for around 90 per cent.
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Rijnhaven, M4H and Oostflank among projects affected
The outcome is particularly important for Rotterdam's larger development areas.
According to the municipality, planned homes in Rijnhaven, Merwe-Vierhavens (M4H) and the first developments in the Oostflank no longer face the same immediate uncertainty over whether residential connections can be accommodated.
That matters because Rotterdam's current housing programme aims to start construction on 15,000 homes between 2026 and 2029. Of these, 10,000 are intended to be affordable, including 4,500 social homes and 5,500 in the middle segment.
Alderman for Building and Mobility Chantal Zeegers said the Stedin decision allows the city to maintain momentum.
“We can make progress with the construction of new homes in Rotterdam. Our ambitions are substantial: with 15,000 new homes in four years, including 4,500 social homes and 5,500 in the middle segment, we want to make a breakthrough and ensure that renters, buyers, starters and people moving up the housing ladder have access to affordable housing at different income levels.”
She added that the wider grid problem has by no means disappeared.
“The dark cloud of grid congestion is certainly not gone, because the full electricity grid still affects many other projects and sectors. But we can continue working at full pace on housing in the coming years.”
What is the Onder handen werk scheme?
The national Onder handen werk scheme was created because the Dutch electricity grid cannot currently accommodate every new request for transport capacity.
Housing projects that were already sufficiently advanced were at risk of being delayed even after years of planning. Under the scheme, qualifying projects can receive conditional assurance of grid capacity if they meet a set of national criteria and start construction before 1 April 2029.
A complete connection application must also be submitted by that date. If construction is postponed beyond the deadline, the capacity allocation can lapse.
Projects starting later are handled differently. Since 1 October 2026, municipalities can submit housing developments expected within roughly the next ten years through a separate Eerder Aanvragen, or earlier application, process so that they enter the grid-capacity queue earlier in their development.
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Homes are not the whole neighbourhood
The new certainty does not mean every part of a housing development automatically receives electricity capacity.
The Onder handen werk arrangements focus primarily on homes. Shops, restaurants and other commercial units within new neighbourhoods are not automatically covered simply because they form part of the same development.
Stedin's rules do allow some small-scale functions that are inseparably connected with residential projects to be considered, but conditions apply. That distinction could become important in mixed-use developments where homes are planned above shops, hospitality businesses or other facilities.
There are also wider demands on the grid from schools, electric vehicle charging, public transport, healthcare and businesses. Rotterdam therefore still faces difficult choices about how limited electricity capacity is distributed while Stedin and national grid operator TenneT expand the network.
Rotterdam continues its net congestion programme
The municipality is working with Stedin, national government, businesses, institutions and residents through the Rotterdamse Aanpak Netcongestie, its broader response to the overloaded electricity grid.
Net congestion occurs when demand for electricity transport exceeds the capacity available in the network. Almost all of the Netherlands now faces constraints of some kind, and Rotterdam is no exception.
Stedin will spend the coming months analysing how much capacity remains for other projects on its waiting lists.
The municipality also expects more clarity on developments that rely on commercial ground-floor units or other functions alongside housing. A more detailed Rotterdam analysis is expected in early 2027.
That means the immediate outlook for residential construction has improved considerably, but the underlying electricity shortage remains unresolved.
