Grid congestion is one of the biggest growth constraints for Dutch manufacturing companies. More and more entrepreneurs find that their existing electricity connection becomes a bottleneck when demand for power increases — due to growth, electrification of machinery and fleet, or simply because of the energy transition. Frits de Jong Interieurbouw from Wormerveer faced exactly this problem, and solved it in a way that's relevant for many other manufacturing companies.

Growth Hits the Limits of the Grid

Frits de Jong Interieurbouw, a custom furniture and interior construction company in Wormerveer, saw demand for their services grow. At the same time, the company electrified its own fleet. Both developments are good news in themselves, but they do put extra pressure on the same electricity connection. Without concrete insight into actual consumption, that connection threatened to become a bottleneck — with the risk that future orders couldn't be accepted or investments in further electrification would have to be delayed. For a manufacturing company where growth and operational continuity are central, this isn't an abstract problem but a direct threat to revenue.

The Standard Approach: Expand or Wait

The standard response to a looming capacity problem is often to request a higher capacity connection from the grid operator. That sounds logical, but in practice it's slow, expensive, and in many regions simply not possible due to existing grid congestion. Companies end up on a waiting list, sometimes for years. The other common response is to wait and hope the problem solves itself — a risky strategy when growth and electrification just keep happening. Both routes miss a simple question: does the company actually know how their existing connection is being used?

Measurement Is the Key to Finding Space

We believe that insight always comes before solutions. Before concluding that a connection is too limited, you need to know where and when consumption peaks, and where within your existing capacity there's still room to spare. That space often exists — spread across the day, between machines, or outside peak moments. Without continuous measurement, it remains invisible and companies reach too quickly for expensive or impossible solutions like grid upgrades. The smarter approach doesn't start with the grid operator, but with understanding your own energy consumption.

How Cobra Climate Delivers Insight

For Frits de Jong, we installed measurement equipment on-site: an electricity meter that accurately records consumption, coupled with a compute unit that processes and forwards the data. This compute unit continuously transmits the measurement data via a secure connection to the Cobra Climate cloud platform, making values accessible in real time. The incoming data is then clearly displayed on an online dashboard. Not isolated snapshots, but a continuous picture of actual consumption — exactly what's needed to make informed decisions about your existing connection.

Concrete Result: Space and Justification

With this data, Frits de Jong could actively search for space within their existing electricity connection, rather than guessing or waiting. The energy measurements provided concrete insight into expansion possibilities by optimizing power consumption within the existing capacity. As an added benefit, the same dataset also provided the documentation needed for the Flex-e report as part of the RVO subsidy program — one measurement solution, two goals achieved. Director Edo de Lange sums it up perfectly: "Thanks to this insight, we now know where within our existing connection there's still room, so we can continue our growth and electrification of our fleet with confidence."

Grow Without Waiting for the Grid

The Frits de Jong case shows that grid congestion doesn't necessarily have to bring a company to a standstill. Those with insight into their own consumption can often use much more space within their existing connection than they thought — and stay in control of their own growth instead of depending on grid operator waiting lists. For manufacturing companies facing similar constraints, this is exactly the kind of insight that makes the difference between stalling and growing.

CTA: Is your company also hitting the limits of your connection? Get in touch and discover what insight into your consumption can deliver.