Belgium's high-voltage operator Elia plans to raise its transmission tariffs in order to fund infrastructure improvements to the national electricity grid. From 2025, this will result in slightly higher bills for consumers.
Earlier this year, the energy operator reiterated the "growing demand for electricity" it was facing and the urgent need to invest in infrastructure to meet this. It calculated that a tariff increase of around 80% was needed – a request that the Federal energy regulator CREG initially said it would reject. However, the regulator has since made a U-turn and approved the request.
"The budget approved by CREG is 10% lower than the tariff proposal submitted by Elia in May this year," Elia noted in a press release. This reduction is partly down to CREG's efforts to shield consumers from facing a major rise in bills.
"Nevertheless, electricity transmission tariffs will rise by an average of 77% over the period 2024-2027: in 2024 they will remain broadly stable compared to the tariffs currently in place (2023) and from 2025 they will rise more sharply."
The higher tariffs will filter down to consumer bills. At present, about 3% of the total electricity bill goes towards the transmission costs for a household customer consuming 3.5 MWh/year (the average household consumption used as a reference to compare energy prices).
"Only from 2025 will the impact on the annual bill be felt and amount to an increase of about €40 excluding VAT," Elia noted. On a monthly basis, households will see an increase of around €3 per month for the entire period.
Cost of doing nothing
Elia explained the tariff increases in the context of significant infrastructure improvements and longer-term investments: "The increasing electrification of our society – whether through the conversion to heat pumps or electric cars – requires a strong high-voltage grid." It forecasts that the electricity consumption of businesses alone will grow by 50% between now and 2030.
Specifically, Elia will invest €6.4 billion in the grid between 2024 and 2027 – around four times more than the €1.5 billion from the previous tariff period 2020-2023.
The company accepted that these are big investments but stated that they will pay for themselves in just a few years. "Moreover, the costs of postponement or delay would be many times higher," said the system operator. The economic benefits of the investments are estimated at between €750 million and €1.2 billion a year.
