Questions about grid congestion and the impact on connections in Wallonia
Do you have any questions about grid congestion and the potential impact on connections to the local transport (30-70kV) and distribution network? Would you like to see whom to contact with these questions?
Why is there grid congestion?
The energy transition is in full swing. This transition reduces fossil fuel consumption and replaces it with alternative applications which are powered by electricity. For example, private individuals are increasingly using heat pumps to keep their homes warm and are switching to electric vehicles (EVs). Industry in particular is switching, where possible, to electricity instead of gas or oil for their production processes. For example, (fast-)charging stations for EVs are being installed on industrial sites, and the number of e-boilers is growing. In addition, recent technologies such as data centres and industrial batteries are increasing the pressure on the electricity grid.
The electrification of our society and industry is translating into more requests from companies and project developers for new connections or upgrades of existing connections to the electricity grid. Although system operators have been taking these developments into account for several years now and have adjusted their investment plans accordingly, the number of requests has increased so sharply in so little time that local congestion may occur in some parts of Wallonia.
What is (local) grid congestion?
This grid congestion, or grid saturation, could be considered as the electricity grid's equivalent of a traffic jam. Local grid congestion can happen if all businesses use the capacity allocated to them at the same time. This means that not all demand for particularly power-intensive connections to the distribution grid or Elia’s grid (30-70kV) can be met immediately. If system operators don't take any action and the social backdrop to the situation doesn't change, there could be a rapid rise in the number of high-voltage lines and transformer substations experiencing grid congestion.
Given that it takes time to upgrade transformer substations, the high-voltage grid and distribution systems, Elia and the distribution system operators have developed a joint action plan for industry so that businesses can continue their economic growth pending a permanent solution. In this way we can reduce the 'traffic jams' on the electricity grid.
Action plan to avoid grid congestion
The action plan encompasses a series of technical measures, covering both the short and the long term. Short-term measures are needed to meet the business community's current requirements as fully as possible, to optimally map out the problem and, above all, to focus on flexibility. In the longer term, the electricity system will have to be completely overhauled to deal with a high level of electrification: a process which will require investments in the physical grids.
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More flexibility on the grid
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Investing in the grids of tomorrow
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Plan de Puissance: a way to detect needs
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Need for a clear policy framework
The following measures are intended to fully meet the business community's requirements in the short term:
- A flexible connection contract to the distribution system and Elia's local grid (30–70 kV): Businesses' electricity consumption is highly dependent on the specific business processes involved. A company doesn't always need the full capacity provided by its connection. It is often possible to switch flexibly between electricity (e.g. e-boilers) and other energy sources (such as gas or combined heat and power generation, or 'cogeneration').
Elia and the distribution system operators are working to enable flexible connections so that the company's consumption can be adapted to the capacity available on the grid at that moment. This will mean that more businesses can be allowed to connect to the grid. This principle is already in place for the Elia high-voltage grid (from 110 kV). The network operators will follow the evolution of the legislative framework to offer the most suitable connections to both new and existing customers.
- Allowing more capacity on the high-voltage grid: Elia is currently investigating how the transformer substations between the Elia high-voltage grid and the distribution system can be managed in such a way that they can temporarily and safely exceed their current limits. This will allow them to carry more of a power load, meaning that we can maximise their potential.
- Precautions for the operation of the distribution system: This will spread the 'pressure' on the electricity grid over more transformer substations by redistributing the load between the transformer substations. This creates a little more scope when additional power is required. However, this principle can have an impact on voltage quality, and so due care and consideration are required when it comes to using it.
In recent years, much attention has been paid to upgrading our grids, and investments in transformer substations, the high-voltage grid and the distribution system have been stepped up.
This acceleration will continue in the years ahead, but there are limits here in terms of affordability and feasibility. Such projects require a great deal of investment and time. For large-scale projects, securing the necessary permits is a very time-consuming process.
The shortage of equipment on the market is another factor causing delays. In Belgium's neighbouring countries too, electrification is in full swing, and a lot is being invested in the grid, putting even more pressure on the market. This is affecting the availability of materials, increasing the cost of investments and how long they take.
As well as the technical action plan, relations with the business community must be further consolidated in order to gain a quicker insight into how businesses view their specific energy transition plans. The predictability of industrial electrification poses a further challenge. Despite major investments in the electricity grid, system operators can't forecast exactly which company will submit a connection at what time, at which location and for which application.
Through the implementation of "Plan de Puissance", the network operators, supported by the Walloon Government, aim to identify possible strategic investments in view of Wallonia's industrial energy needs in the short, medium and long term. To do this, network operators are raising awareness among companies about the need to receive their best forecasts and prospects for electrification.
As well as all the initiatives planned by Elia and the distribution system operators themselves, some starker choices affecting society will need to be made when it comes to access to the electricity grid in the years ahead. Currently, system operators are legally obliged to apply the 'first come, first served' principle: whoever is first to submit an application that is acceptable from a technical perspective will be assigned the requested capacity on the electricity grid.
Elia and the distribution system operators are in consultation with the government to think together about how we should deal with this in Wallonia, in order to achieve an optimal spatial location of data centres, battery parks and other heavy-duty connections in the Walloon electricity system.
The overview below provides information on whom to contact with any questions
If your connection is to the low- or medium-voltage grid in Brussels or Flanders, please contact your local distribution system operator.
Where can you go for a new connection or an upgrade?
I'm already connected to the electricity grid
- If you're connected to the low- or medium-voltage grid (less than 25 MVA), please contact your Account Manager from your local distribution system operator or visit their website for more information.
- If you're connected to the high-voltage grid (more than 25 MVA), please contact your Elia Key Account Manager or visit our website for more information. You'll find a list of our Key Account Managers.
I'm not yet connected to the electricity grid
- If your connection request relates to the low- or medium-voltage grid (less than 25 MVA), you should visit the website of your local distribution system operator for more information.
- If your connection request relates to the high-voltage grid (more than 25 MVA), please check out the Elia website for more information and contact us via this form:
FAQs
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What is grid congestion?
Each grid element such as a line, cable or transformer has a certain capacity. This means that such a grid element can handle a certain amount of current (expressed in MVA). A cable or line has therefore limited power.
If someone wants to connect to the grid, they must request this from the transmission system operator (for large industrial customers) or distribution system operator (for smaller industrial customers). This can be someone who produces electricity and therefore injects it into the grid, someone who needs power and therefore takes it from the grid, or both (e.g. storage).
It is the task of the grid operator to calculate whether there is sufficient capacity on the grid to allow all power to flow effectively at any time and through any grid element.
When this cannot be guaranteed at all times, we speak of grid congestion on a line, cable or transformer station. Grid congestion therefore occurs when there is a risk that more power will flow through a grid element than the technically available capacity on that grid element. So, it can be compared to traffic jams of cars on a highway. Grid congestion is a local phenomenon that can occur at certain times.
Grid congestion has nothing to do with security of supply and whether there is enough electricity available to cover the demand for electricity at any given time.
Grid congestion occurs locally and briefly.
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What data currently serves as the basis for a decision made as part of the connection request process?When evaluating a request for connection to the distribution grid, Elia looks at the historical load on the grid, an estimate of the increase in residential consumption (e.g. EVs and heat pumps) and the already approved connection requests that may affect the grid elements concerned. The sum of this data is then compared to the capacity available at the transformer substation and the overhead lines.
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Why is there an impact only on businesses and not on households? After all, aren't we all dependent on the same electricity grid?
When managing the electricity grid, the grid operators always provide a certain capacity for the underlying level, also for the low-voltage grid to which the households are connected. Therefore, there is no impact for families.
