Grid congestion: solution for nearly 800 companies seeking grid connection
Fluvius, in collaboration with Elia, is launching new web pages with up-to-date information on grid congestion.
Electrification in businesses and industry is putting additional pressure on the electricity grid. In some locations, grid congestion may occur in the future. Therefore, certain high-power applications require a flexible connection such as Fall-Back Flex to keep the grid stable. For households, nothing will change. The Flemish Utilities Regulator has decided to relax the conditions for Fall-Back Flex, which will eventually allow 760 applications to be connected flexibly in congestion zones.
More Fall-Back Flex possible
With the "Fall-Back Flex" product launched last year, Fluvius has an important solution to enable connections even in regions with expected congestion, coupled with flexibility on the grid.
Fall-Back Flex is a connection formula offered by Fluvius to companies. In it, you as a company get the full requested power at your disposal, but Fluvius can call on you to temporarily reduce your consumption volume at times of impending grid congestion.
Until today, regulations meant that this solution could only be offered in regions where transmission system operator Elia had already planned a detailed grid investment in the high-voltage grid or a transformer substation. That limited the applicability of Fall-Back Flex. This will now change.
Extra perspective for Flemish companies with stalled connection files
The Flemish Utilities Regulator (VNR) has decided to ease the one-to-one coupling of a customer demand with a planned investment within the temporary Fall-Back Flex framework. As a result, Fall-Back Flex can be used as a solution for a lot of open cases without the need for a fully worked-out grid investment first. This is a significant step and represents a breakthrough for 760 files.
Thanks to this decision, which came about through constructive consultation between the grid operators and the regulator, Fluvius will be able to send customised offers for these cases in the course of the spring.
Applications for industrial batteries
There are 500 applications for industrial battery projects awaiting bids. For these battery projects, Fluvius, in consultation with the Flemish Nutsregulator, has developed a proposal for an adapted connection contract, with an addition in the framework of technical flexibility. This contract was consulted earlier this year. A decision by the VNR is expected in the coming months, so that clear and grid-friendly connection conditions can also be established for battery projects. Some 100 of these files also require implementation of Fall-Back Flex.
New grid congestion web pages
In order to provide a transparent view of the number of open files and connection opportunities for companies, Fluvius, in cooperation with Elia, is launching a new webpage net congestion. The page explains congestion in a simple way and includes, in addition to a clear FAQ for companies, a map on connection possibilities for companies and general data on current files. The webpage will be updated monthly and will be further supplemented in the coming months.
Staying committed on three fronts
Elia and Fluvius stress that a structural approach to congestion is always a collaboration between system operators, government, regulators and industry and is a combination of three tracks:
- Investment: continue to invest heavily in grid expansion and reinforcement.
- Flexibility: deploy flexible connections and market mechanisms to free up more capacity and absorb peaks.
- Social choices: clear policy choices are needed to keep companies connected to the maximum extent possible.
In addition, Fluvius, Elia and Fluxys launched the 'EnergieGRIP' initiative to detect industry needs more quickly and gain insight into companies' plans for energy transition. This will allow grid operators to better anticipate and reinforce grids in a more targeted way.
Hans Bonte, Flemish Minister of Energy, reacts to the latest evolutions in the grid congestion action plan:
"More and more families and companies are switching from polluting fossil fuels to electricity. This is good for the climate and their energy bills. So for months we have been working within the Flemish Government on possible solutions to tackle grid congestion. The fact that many companies will soon be able to count on a connection is a big step forward. Not only for our economy but also for the thousands of jobs here in Flanders."
Björn Verdoodt
Fluvius is the grid company responsible in Flanders for building, managing and maintaining distribution networks for electricity, natural gas, sewage and heat. Fluvius also manages the municipal public lighting fleet. In total, the company manages 230,000 kilometres of utility lines and 7 million connections. Fluvius operates in all Flemish cities and municipalities.
Carolien Pouleyn
Elia Transmission Belgium is the operator of the Belgian electricity transmission grid. We operate the Belgian high-voltage grid from 30,000 to 400,000 volts. This grid extends over a total of more than 8,802.50 km of lines, underground and submarine cables throughout Belgium. With a reliability rate of 99.99%, we give society a robust electricity grid, which is important for socio-economic prosperity. We ensure that generation and consumption are balanced at all times.