Expected grid congestion: what does this mean for you as a company?

Companies are increasingly switching from fossil energy to electricity. The rapid electrification means that the demand for electricity in some places and times threatens to become greater than the electricity grid can handle. We call this expected grid saturation or grid congestion.

This may have consequences for you as a company if you want to apply for a new connectionneed n or more power. That is why we at Fluvius are already taking measures today to operate the grid safely and to enable new connections and the growth of companies. Below, we explain how we do this and what it means for your application.

Want to quickly understand what grid congestion means for your business?
In this short video, we explain what's changing and how flexibility can help you move forward.

Prefer to read more slowly?
Scroll down for the step-by-step explanation and additional details.

Grid congestion can be compared to a traffic jam on the electricity grid: in certain places and at specific times, too many users want to use the grid at the same time.

This is due, amongst other things, to:

• businesses and industry switching from fossil fuels to electricity for transport, heating and cooling;
• business processes being electrified;
• new applications such as industrial batteries and data centres consuming large amounts of electricity.

Grid saturation is not the same as a power cut or disruption, nor is there a shortage of electricity. It is a local and temporary capacity problem affecting certain parts of the grid at times when demand for electricity is very high. If the load becomes too high, grid operators must take measures to ensure the safety of the electricity grid.

At present, in Flanders we are mainly talking about expected grid congestion rather than actual grid congestion, as is the case in the Netherlands. By taking measures now, we aim to prevent the problem in the future.

For businesses wishing to apply for a new grid connection, a higher-capacity connection or a battery, this may mean that:

• a standard connection is not immediately possible;
• the requested capacity will only be available once grid upgrades have been carried out, which will take time;
• additional arrangements are required in order to connect today.

We therefore seek an alternative solution for each application.

To prevent grid saturation, we work on three different tracks:

1. We invest in the reinforcement and expansion of the electricity grid.
2. We work together with regulators who determine the rules of the energy market, such as the Flemishamse Nutsregulator (VNR), and with Elia, the manager of the high-voltage grid in Flanders.
3. We focus on flexible connections to absorb peaks and create space on the grid.

Flexible connections are a (temporary) solution to connect companies to the grid or toextend it in zones with expected grid congestion. At the same time, we keep the electricity grid safe at peak times.

In order to absorb peaks in the electricity grid and free up capacity, flexibility can be used in various ways.

There are different forms of flexibility. Some of these are already applicable to your connection, while others are evolving within the energy market.

For companies with an application for connection or weightingcurrently mainly apply these solutions:

Fall-Back Flex is a temporary connection scheme for businesses in areas where we expect the electricity grid to come under strain. Under this scheme, your business will have access to the requested power, but Fluvius may ask you to temporarily limit that power where necessary to protect the grid and customers in that area.

We use Fall-Back Flex for:

• new connections;
• expansion of existing connections;
• areas where grid saturation is expected.

Read more about Fall-Back Flex and what this means for your application.

T-Flex stands for technical flexibility. It is a collective term for a number of rules and agreements that enable Fluvius to intervene in specific situations to keep the electricity grid safe. Today, we are applying T-Flex in two specific cases.

1. Injection
   For installations that feed electricity into the grid, such as large generation plants, Fluvius may, in exceptional circumstances, temporarily restrict the injection of electricity. This is not a new measure. We have been doing this for some time whenever it is necessary to protect the grid.
2. Batteries
   We have recently started applying technical flexibility to batteries as well. Batteries can relieve pressure on the electricity grid by storing electricity when demand is low and using or feeding it back into the grid later when demand is high. However, when many batteries are charging or discharging at the same time, they can actually place an extra strain on the grid. That is why it is important that they are used in a smart and grid-friendly way.
   Within T-Flex, Fluvius can control how batteries operate in certain situations. In this way, we prevent too much electricity from being drawn or fed back into the grid at the same time, thereby keeping the grid safe. As a result, businesses can sometimes still connect to the electricity grid, even in areas where the grid is under strain.

Learn more about technical flexibility

As well as Fall-Back Flex and T-Flex, there are other flexible solutions available on the energy market. If you do not need your available capacity at all times, you can use it flexibly to relieve pressure on the electricity grid – in exchange for a payment.

At Fluvius, we are actively working to develop a flexibility market; find out whether this could also be of interest to your business.

Find out if this is also interesting for your company.