TenneT’s help to Belgium: there is room for improvement, says ACM
The Netherlands will help Belgium out if it has too little power this winter. The national regulatory authorities in the countries close to Belgium today decided to work together and put their backs into it (see the joint press release below). The Dutch energy regulator is the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). Henk Don, Member of the Board of ACM, explains: “We cannot leave Belgium in the dark while we have enough production capacity to supply Belgium with the power they need. We will help Belgium at the lowest cost.”
Limited capacity on the Dutch-Belgian border
ACM is pleased to see that Dutch transmission system operator TenneT has developed plans to make this possible. But there is room for improvement. Mr. Don adds:”The regulators involved believe that it is better to let the market run its natural course as much as possible. If the market cannot solve the situation, generation in the Netherlands will be reduced, and generation in France will be increased. We will do this by asking plants in the Netherlands to generate less power, and plants in France to generate more. The French power plant that offers the cheapest bid will be started up.”
Biggest concern: combination of cold weather and no wind
The situation that is expected to cause the biggest problem for Belgium is a period of extreme cold combined with little wind. Under such conditions, demand for power in Belgium and France is high, and supply of wind energy is limited. In that case, the Netherlands is the cheapest producer of electricity in the Central West European region, because in recent years, investments in new production facilities have soared in the Netherlands. In the abovementioned situation, demand for cheap power from the Netherlands will increase. However, that power is not only for Belgium, but will also pass through Belgium into France. This puts an additional burden on the Belgian grid without Belgian consumers actually benefiting from it. That is another reason why it would be better if production in France itself were increased.
Finalize arrangements soon, also with producers
ACM believes that TenneT must improve the current arrangements made with market participants and the transmission system operators in other countries, and that it must enter into contracts for situations in which less electricity production in the Netherlands or more in France is desired.