Dutch coal-fired power plants are producing electricity at their highest levels since the 2022 gas crisis, according to a report by Dutch broadcaster NOS on August 17.

Coal generation so far in 2026 has already exceeded the total output for the entire year of 2024, showed data from the National Energy Dashboard, cited by financial daily Het Financieele Dagblad.

While the current figure remains below the 2025 total, the report expects that mark to be surpassed soon.

The resurgence echoes the situation in 2022, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine drove natural gas prices to record highs. A similar price shock is now unfolding amid the war in Iran, even though the Netherlands has raised its CO2 levy on coal use. 

According to the report, the main drivers are high overall energy costs and a sharp jump in electricity demand from neighbouring Belgium.

Martien Visser, emeritus lecturer in energy transition at Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen, noted that coal-fired power plants are also stepping in because demand for electricity from abroad has increased. "We are exporting a lot of electricity abroad." he said.

Belgium has been forced to import large volumes of power in the first half of the year due to maintenance at two of its major nuclear reactors.

Visser argued that the coal rebound is not necessarily a setback. He pointed to European emissions-trading rules, under which higher output in one country must be offset by lower emissions elsewhere.

"By using coal-fired power plants, we save 60 million cubic metres of gas per week. We can use that to replenish our gas reserves." he also stressed.