Non-firm ATO alternative transport agreements: a guide for businesses
Direct answer
A non-firm ATO is a Dutch connection and transport agreement under which you may only transport electricity when the grid has sufficient spare capacity. Non-firm ATO alternative transport agreements therefore provide a variable transport right instead of fixed capacity, in exchange for a discount on the transport tariff. Grid operators offer them in congestion areas, where the electricity grid is full.
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Non-firm ATO alternative transport agreements: scattered information versus Energy Intelligence
Large parts of the Dutch electricity grid are full. Businesses sometimes wait years for new or larger transport capacity. Yet outside peak hours the grid often sits largely unused. The Dutch regulator ACM has therefore enabled contract forms that use this spare capacity. Consider a transport company charging electric buses at night: it needs no transport capacity during the day and may gain access sooner with a variable contract.
- Grid operators have been allowed to offer non-firm ATOs in congestion areas since 1 February 2024 and have been obliged to do so there since 1 February 2025.
- The contract is only available for large consumer connections, meaning connections larger than 3x80 amperes.
- Businesses with flexible consumption benefit most, such as battery storage, electrolysers and charging hubs for electric buses.
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How does a non-firm ATO work?
Under a standard connection and transport agreement you contract fixed transport capacity that is available day and night. A non-firm ATO works differently: you may only transport electricity at times when the grid has sufficient spare capacity. The grid operator may restrict your transport as soon as the grid becomes busy. In return for that uncertainty you receive a discount on the transport tariff. You can also contract part of your capacity as non-firm and keep the rest fixed. This frees up space on the grid for other businesses and helps reduce grid congestion.
- Standard ATO: fixed transport capacity that is always available.
- Non-firm ATO: a transport right only when the grid has sufficient spare capacity.
- The grid operator can restrict transport at busy moments.
- A partial non-firm ATO combines fixed and variable capacity.
- The discount on the transport tariff compensates for the uncertainty.
Which contract forms exist?
Alongside the standard agreement, the Netherlands now has several alternative transport rights. The fully variable form only grants a transport right as long as the grid has free spare capacity and exists only in congestion areas. The time-block-bound transport right grants full transport rights within fixed time windows agreed with the grid operator, for example during night hours. The duration-bound transport right grants transport for a set number of hours per year and becomes available on TenneT's national high-voltage grid. Regional grid operators use their own product names. Stedin, for example, offers Blokstroom for fixed off-peak hours and Reststroom as the fully variable variant.
- Fully variable (non-firm): transport only when spare capacity is free, exclusively in congestion areas.
- Time-block-bound: full transport rights within agreed time windows, such as night hours.
- Duration-bound: a set number of hours per year, on TenneT's high-voltage grid.
- Regional grid operators use their own product names for these contracts.
When will you encounter this?
Non-firm ATOs mainly apply in congestion areas, where requests for new or larger transport capacity sit in a queue. Since 1 February 2024 grid operators have been allowed to offer these contracts there, and since 1 February 2025 they have been obliged to do so. The contract suits businesses that can shift or temporarily reduce their electricity consumption. Think of battery storage, electrolysers and charging infrastructure for electric transport. If you are waiting for transport capacity, ask your grid operator which alternative transport rights are available in your area. The grid operator assesses per situation whether spare capacity actually exists outside peak hours.
- Congestion areas: areas where the grid is full and requests sit in a queue.
- Since 1 February 2025 grid operators have been obliged to offer non-firm ATOs in congestion areas.
- Suitable for flexible consumption: batteries, electrolysers and charging infrastructure.
- Only for large consumer connections, larger than 3x80 amperes.
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