From 2026, ten Twente municipalities will source electricity directly from Twence, using a new self supply model. How does this shift impact regional control, costs and sustainability?
Key Takeaways
- Starting in 2026, ten municipalities in Twente will purchase electricity directly from Twence through a self supply model, enhancing regional control and sustainability.
- The municipalities will generate renewable electricity locally, reducing reliance on external suppliers and supporting regional sustainability projects.
- Twence, now registered as an energy supplier, will assist municipalities in procurement and risk management under this new structure.
- Under the self supply model, municipalities aim for cost efficiency and reduced grid pressure by aligning consumption with local renewable generation.
- By using local energy generation, the cooperating municipalities seek a stable, sustainable, and intelligent energy system, termed the Twente Electricity Model.
From 1 January 2026 ten municipalities in Twente will purchase their electricity directly from sustainability company Twence through a self supply model. The municipalities will no longer use an external energy supplier for this power. Twence has registered as an energy supplier for this purpose.
The Dutch municipalities Borne, Dinkelland, Enschede, Haaksbergen, Hellendoorn, Hengelo, Hof van Twente, Losser, Tubbergen and Wierden, together with the shared services organisation Noaberkracht, have cooperated in energy procurement for some time, Twence announced. By pooling demand and expertise they act jointly on the energy market, support the regional economy and keep procurement costs down. Since 2020 they have also used this cooperation to advance regional sustainability objectives.
At that time the cooperating Twente municipalities agreed that their electricity supplier would source renewable power from Twence. Twence expanded renewable generation to support this, including the solar parks ’t Rikkerink and Elhorst-Vloedbelt and the manure processing plant Elhorst-Vloedbelt.
The current municipal contract expires at the end of 2025. A market exploration in 2024 indicated that a new contract under the same conditions was unlikely. The municipalities therefore examined whether Twence could deliver sustainably generated electricity from their own municipality or region directly for their own consumption. This self supply concept proved viable and remains relatively uncommon in the Netherlands.
How The Self Supply Model Works
In a self supply arrangement the consumer supplies the energy that it generates sustainably. In this case the municipalities deliver their own renewable electricity for assets such as street lighting, pumping stations and municipal buildings. The power comes from local generation assets owned by the municipalities themselves, such as rooftop solar installations, systems above car parks and solar fields, or from Twence’s renewable plants, in which the municipalities are shareholders.
Alderman Jan Engels of Losser describes the effect of this model: “The municipalities will have direct access to locally generated green electricity. This ensures that both the energy and the revenue remain within our own region of Twente. In this way, the cooperating municipalities are taking an important step forward in advancing the energy transition in Twente.”
Governance, Grid Capacity And Regional Impact
With self supply the municipalities seek greater control over the origin of the electricity they use. They can ensure that the power comes from their own municipality or region and that the energy budget supports regional sustainability projects.
The model is designed to reduce pressure on the electricity grid. The municipalities are encouraged to shift their electricity consumption to periods with high renewable generation. This eases loading on the already congested grid and frees capacity for additional local projects and companies.
Aligning consumption with local generation also gives the cooperating Twente municipalities more insight into their energy use. With this information they can identify further efficiency measures and reduce overall consumption. Local generation lowers dependence on large energy companies and keeps the energy budget within the region.
Long term contracts under the self supply model provide supply security and a more predictable energy bill. The municipalities are less exposed to short term fluctuations in the energy market.
Twence As Registered Energy Supplier
To deliver and procure electricity an organisation must be registered as an energy supplier. Twence has now completed this registration and acts as the supplier in the self supply structure. Twence supports the municipalities with procurement strategy, administration, invoicing and risk management.
The transition to self supply is a substantial operational step. All 6,000 connections of the cooperating Twente municipalities will move to the new supplier structure. Preparations for the change started in 2025.
Managing director Marc Kapteijn of Twence links the operational work to the wider energy system: “Self-supply makes it possible: together, we are building a future-proof energy system that is 100 per cent sustainable, local and intelligent. Twence and the municipalities of Twente demonstrate that innovation and reliability can go hand in hand.”
Contract Structure, Costs And Risk
Under self supply the municipalities conclude a ten year contract with Twence. Municipalities that align their electricity use with developments in the power market can reduce their costs within this arrangement.
Twence supports this optimisation with an energy portal that provides quarter hour data on the consumption of buildings and installations. On this basis municipalities can plan consumption for periods when electricity is more cheaply available, a practice also described as synchronising generation and consumption. An example is a pumping station that operates when the sun shines. A linked energy management system can automate this control.
Electricity supply requires accurate forecasting of both demand and generation. These forecasts enable the national grid operator to keep the electricity system in balance. Actual consumption will always differ slightly from the forecast. This difference, the imbalance, leads to additional costs. More accurate forecasts reduce imbalance and associated costs.
Under conventional energy contracts the imbalance risk is often transferred to the supplier. In a self supply arrangement the municipalities carry this risk themselves. According to the project partners the risk is limited and active management can reduce it further. Imbalance costs form only a small part of total energy expenditure. The energy price and taxes represent the largest share of the municipalities’ energy costs.
Renewable Generation Mix And Volumes
Part of the municipalities’ electricity is generated locally, for example by solar panels on municipal assets. The remaining volume comes from Twence’s renewable installations: solar fields, the biomass energy plant and the Waste-to-Energy plant.
Electricity from the solar parks and the biomass energy plant is 100 per cent green. Power from the Waste-to-Energy plant is more than half sustainable. In total the sustainable electricity generated at Twence corresponds to the average annual electricity consumption of 140,000 households. Around 6 per cent of this output is supplied to the Twente municipalities.
The combination of several renewable sources in this energy mix makes it possible to supply electricity when the sun is not shining. This structure supports continuous delivery of sustainable electricity throughout the day and night.
Wider Application And Legal Framework
Self supply is presented as a relatively new but established solution. Dozens of public authorities already use similar models. Frisian authorities, including municipalities, the province and the water authority, apply self supply through the joint energy supplier ovef. Municipalities in the Achterhoek region use the model via agem energie.
The legal framework limits the scope of supply. Under the wet markt en overheid (wm&o) and the mededingingswet Twence may not supply electricity to companies or residents. It may supply only the Twente municipalities that are shareholders in Twence.
The municipalities remain bound by the aanbestedingswet and state that they apply it carefully. Self supply is not used to bypass procurement rules. One reason for choosing this model is the increasing difficulty of securing suitable contracts through conventional tenders. Since the energy crisis the number of suppliers has fallen and prices have risen. In addition, standard contracts often do not align with local sustainability objectives.
Through self supply the cooperating Twente municipalities and Twence take more direct control of the origin and use of their electricity and of the financial flows linked to it. They aim to build an energy system in which electricity is affordable, reliable and, according to their own description, 100 per cent sustainable, local and smart.
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