Electricity Production

In the Netherlands the regional electricity producers have merged into four national companies:

EPON in the north and in the east of the country
UNA in the northwest and in the central part of the country
EZH in the west of the country
EPZ in the south of the country.

These companies have joined Sep (Samenwerkende Elektriciteits Produktie- bedrijven), the Dutch Electricity Generating Board.

The installed power (under Sep) is 15,048 MWe, with a maximum load of 10,800 MWe (1994). The electricity production (under Sep) in 1994 was 59.5 TWhe. The breakdown of the primary energy used for electricitiy production was:

                          1982        1986        1994
    natural gas           43,7        60,2        41,8
    coal                  24,0        26,7        45,8
    nuclear fuel           8,5         8,4         7,9
    blast furnace gas      2,4         3,5         4,2
    oil                   21,4         1,2         0,3

Due to the exploitation of large amounts of natural gas in the Netherlands, relatively much natural gas is consumed. The percentage of nuclear fuels used is low in comparison with the neighbouring countries. In the Netherlands public opinion on the safety of nuclear reactors carries much weight.

National Energy Policy