30,000 kilometers of stronger electricity cable, 750,000 connections to houses that need to be strengthened, a third of the electricity cabins that are being adapted. Grid operator Fluvius has big plans for the electricity grid under the sidewalk or at the electricity pole in front of your door.
The grid operator says it needs at least 4 billion euros extra for investments in the low-voltage grid, to prepare it for the energy transition, with more and more electric cars and renewable energy.
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Electric trolleys
A simulation that Fluvius presented today shows what the consequences are if we don’t do this. In particular, the arrival of one and a half million electric cars threatens to undermine the reliability of the grid.
Today, the electricity grid still has sufficient margin in most places, although there is already slight congestion here and there, especially in the east of the province of Flemish Brabant (card 1† But when all those electric cars have to be charged, the picture will change completely. Everywhere in Flanders, the Fluvius electricity grid threatens to silt up, and to a much greater extent (card 2).
The intention is to spread the charging of electric cars well, and preferably to keep electricity consumption outside the evening peak, but Fluvius is taking into account that this will not be the case in the short term. Simultaneous charging adds to the problem.
With his plan, Fluvius wants to avoid those problems. That is of course not free. A cost of four billion for the energy transition by 2032 means that the operating resources the company needs will have to increase by almost ten percent. That money is collected via the grid costs that are included in the electricity bill, which today amounts to several hundred euros per year.
The calculations take into account that we do the necessary to use the electricity grid as efficiently as possible and thus keep it more affordable. If we don’t, the cost – four billion by 2032 and six billion by 2050 – threatens to double.
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