Netherlands

Getting Electricity in

Netherlands

Listed below are the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain an electricity connection for a newly constructed building.

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Name of Utility: Liander
  • City: Amsterdam

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 The client applies for electricity connection and awaits estimate of connection fees from Liander

The customer can apply for electricity connection with the utility, Liander, online at www.aansluitingen.nl; in person; or by phone, mail, or fax.
The customer will need to attach the following documents to their application: location of building to public road and location of utility.

If there are no maps for the area where the building is located and thus a site inspection is necessary, Liander will inspect the site to determine the specifics of the connection. The client does not need to be present during the inspection.

The utility then prepares an estimate of the connection fees.

No inspection of the entire internal wiring is carried out during the process, but the electrician/ electrical contractor in charge of the internal wiring will need to submit a notification to Liander stating the installation has been carried out according to the regulations.


Agency: Liander 		29 calendar days no charge
* 2 The client obtains external inspection from Liander



Agency: Liander 		1 calendar day no charge
3 The client obtains external works by Liander’s contractor

Liander will sub-contract the works to a private firm. In this case, the works consist of laying out a cable from the warehouse to the closest supply source.

A standard connection is a connection for a house or a small company with a length of up to 25 meters. Connection fees are fixed and set by the DTe (Dienst Uitvoering en Toezicht Energy), and include the physical works for a connection of up to 25 meters. Beyond the 25 meters, additional costs apply depending on the distance.

Liander distinguishes between 3 categories of connections: households and small businesses (loads of up to 3 x 80 Ampere); large businesses and small industrial (between 3 x 80 Ampere and 2 MVA); and large industrial (over 2 MVA). The assumed case falls into the second category and more information on the connection fees can be found at: http://www.liander.nl/liander/producten_diensten/tarieven/2010/elektriciteit/nieuwe_aansluiting_elektriciteit_grootverbruik_tarief.htm
and http://www.liander.nl/liander/producten_diensten/tarieven/2010/elektriciteit/meerlengte_aansluiting_elektriciteit_grootverbruik_tarief.htm

Agency: Liander 		100 calendar days EUR 10,960.5
* 4 The client signs contract with an electricity supplier

Liander is a distributor of electricity, but not a provider. In order to obtain electricity, the client will need to sign a contract with one of many suppliers.

Agency: Supplier 		7 calendar days no charge
5 The client obtains meter installation by a meter company or Liander’s Meter Department

The customer can choose a meter company to install the meter for them, or can refer to Liander’s meter department for that.
For the electricity turn on, the client will need to show the relevant agency (Meter Company or Liander) a copy of the supply contract. The costs of installing the meter are included in the periodic fee.


Agency: Liander or meter company 		14 calendar days no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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