How big is the Netherlands's transmission network?

OverWatts maps 1,520 km of transmission line in the Netherlands, across 1,086 segments, plus 47 substations. This is mapped length from OpenStreetMap, not an operator-reported total — where OSM is incomplete the figure is a floor, never a ceiling.

What voltage is the Netherlands's grid?

Most of the mapped network is extra-high voltage (380–764 kV): 1,268 km of 1,520 km. The highest voltage tagged anywhere in the country is 380 kV.

Who operates the grid in the Netherlands?

TenneT, Elia, RWE are tagged as operators on mapped segments. Operator tags are present on 47% of the Netherlands's segments, so this ranks who is *recorded*, not market share.

What interconnectors connect the Netherlands to its neighbours?

8,750 MW of cross-border transfer capacity to Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, plus 8,050 MW planned. Capacities are from the Global Transmission Database (v1.0, 2023); flow over the GB cables is published live every five minutes by Elexon.

Netherlands · electricity network

Netherlands power grid

OverWatts maps 1,520 km of the Netherlands's electricity transmission network across 1,086 line segments and 47 substations, the 97th most-mapped grid of 153 countries. Its backbone is extra-high voltage (380–764 kV), carrying 1,268 km — 83% of the mapped length, with the highest tagged voltage at 380 kV. That works out to 38.2 km per 1,000 km² of land — strong OpenStreetMap coverage, ahead of 78% of mapped countries. It is connected to 5 neighbouring grids by 8,750 MW of existing cross-border transfer capacity, with a further 8,050 MW planned.

Open the grid lens →Netherlands profile →

1,520 km

Mapped transmission line

Substations

#97

of 153 mapped grids

8.8 GW

cross-border · 5 neighbours

380 kV

Highest voltage

OpenStreetMap coverage

Strong38.2 km / 1,000 km²ahead of 78% of 153 mapped countries

This grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn the Netherlands's network — not how much network exists. Large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone, and every kilometre here is mapped length, so the totals are a floor rather than an operator-reported figure. 1% of segments carry a real line name and 47% an operator tag.

Mapped line length by voltage

380–764 kV1,268 km 83%
220–379 kV251 km 17%

1,086 segments · a segment is credited to the country containing its midpoint, so a border-crossing line counts once, on one side.

8.8 GW existing · 8.1 GW planned · capacities from the Global Transmission Database v0.1 (CC BY 4.0), existing as of 2023 · GB cable flow every five minutes · Contains BMRS data © Elexon Limited copyright and database right 2026

On the interactive map

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Load against the network

28.0 GW

Operating generation

Data centres mapped

km of line per substation

38.2

km per 1,000 km²

Where there is room to connect a new load depends on published hosting capacity, which most operators release only as their own map. OverWatts does not yet ingest those feeds, so these are the density measures the open data supports — generation and mapped demand against mapped network — not a headroom figure.

Operators tagged on the Netherlands's network

TenneT455 89%
Elia54 11%
RWE1 0%

Segment counts from OSM `operator` tags, merged across spellings. Present on 47% of segments — this ranks who is recorded, not market share.

How the Netherlands compares · mapped grid by country

1. People's Republic of China624,300 km
95. Panama1,703 km
96. North Korea1,554 km
97. Netherlands1,520 km
98. Armenia1,507 km
99. Kuwait1,430 km

Frequently asked

How big is the Netherlands's transmission network?: OverWatts maps 1,520 km of transmission line in the Netherlands, across 1,086 segments, plus 47 substations. This is mapped length from OpenStreetMap, not an operator-reported total — where OSM is incomplete the figure is a floor, never a ceiling.
What voltage is the Netherlands's grid?: Most of the mapped network is extra-high voltage (380–764 kV): 1,268 km of 1,520 km. The highest voltage tagged anywhere in the country is 380 kV.
How complete is the grid map for the Netherlands?: Strong — 38.2 km of mapped line per 1,000 km² of land, ahead of 78% of the 153 countries with any mapped grid. Coverage grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn the network, not how much network exists; large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone.
Who operates the grid in the Netherlands?: TenneT, Elia, RWE are tagged as operators on mapped segments. Operator tags are present on 47% of the Netherlands's segments, so this ranks who is *recorded*, not market share.
What interconnectors connect the Netherlands to its neighbours?: 8,750 MW of cross-border transfer capacity to Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, plus 8,050 MW planned. Capacities are from the Global Transmission Database (v1.0, 2023); flow over the GB cables is published live every five minutes by Elexon.

Elsewhere in the Netherlands

Transmission lines Substations Power plants Data centres

Network geometry: OpenStreetMap (ODbL) © OpenStreetMap contributors, ingested and measured by OverWatts · derived 2026-07-26. Counts every mapped line of 220 kV and above; the map layer draws the ≥380 kV backbone only, so it shows less than is measured here.