ইউropa গরমির মধ্যে, Utrecht-এর বিবlioথেক্সের সামনে একটি অস্বাভাবিক দ্বন্দ্ব আছে: বা কুলার চালু করা বা স্লিপার চালু করা। Utrecht holand_cityে居住ের,residents, businesses and public services严格 limits on electricity use, which is less than 30 miles south of Amsterdam, because the power grid is severely congested. Since July 1, the grid operator has frozen new connections to avoid power cuts. Utrecht's mayor Sharon Dijksma fears the crisis could last for several years, with dire economic consequences for the Netherlands' fastest-growing city. Fewer housing projects can be developed, while plans to electrify local industry and install faster chargers for electric vehicles are on hold.

Netherlands' problems are particularly acute because it has made a big electrification push in recent years. The EU's fifth-largest economy has more solar panels and electric charging points per person than any other country in the region. It has successfully cut gas use from 42bn cubic metres per year in 2019 to 30bn in 2025. But its failure to invest fast enough in pylons, cables and substations to support the transition means the queue of companies waiting for a power connection increased from 12,000 to 15,000 last year.

Experts have long criticised the EU's fractured energy system. Of the five largest EU economies, only Germany met a 2020 target to install enough cross-border power cables to allow it to import the equivalent of up to 10 per cent of its electricity production capacity from neighbouring countries. Former European Central Bank governor Mario Draghi's 2024 landmark report on EU competitiveness estimated that Europe needed to plough up to €600bn into its electricity grids by 2030 to support investments in renewables.