Three key insights: Flexibility in grid connections – Is ‘firm’ access to the electrical grid(s) slowly coming to a close?

Belgium’s electricity grids are facing ever-increasing structural congestion, especially in some bottleneck areas. Amongst a range of potential (short-term) solutions, flexible connection arrangements may help minimize the occurrence of downright connection request refusals.

The downside of such arrangements is that “flexibility” must be accepted, meaning that – on certain occasions – firm access may be unavailable as the possible to offtake/inject is curtailed to address structural congestion issues on (nearby) critical grid elements. Especially for offtake projects, such curtailment may have a significant impact on a business case.

To be able to fully assess the impact of flexible connections on projects and business operations, information is missing.

Though, on the one hand, a basic regulatory framework (for flexible connections to the (federal) Elia grid) has been adopted by the CREG in April 2025, the framework requires further implementation to fully assess its impact. For instance, no decisions have been taken yet regarding how the use of flexibility beyond the (legal/contractual) parameters will precisely be compensated. Moreover, a shared concern by stakeholders is that the currently available information shared on the (scope of) flexibility lacks sufficient granularity to precisely assess its (business) impact.

On the other hand, in Flanders, a new flexibility bill is going through the legislative pipeline. Though this framework seems – in some respects – slightly more ‘grid-user’-friendly, the bill has not yet been adopted, will require further implementation and may facilitate far-reaching measures changes, such as a prioritization framework (replacing the first-come, first-served logic currently underpinning the connection process). Whilst awaiting its implementation, two temporary products (i.e. Fluvius and Elia ‘Fall-back-flex’) have just been approved by the Flemish Regulator, which may offer short-term solutions to (otherwise blocked or stalled) connection requests.

A key factor for future project and business development is ensuring a reliable power supply. This requires careful consideration not only of alternative power sources, but also of whether the envisaged connection is firm or flexible. Early monitoring and detection of potential issues throughout the project or business development cycles is therefore essential.

By identifying risks early, companies can explore alternative arrangements within the scope allowed by the evolving legal framework. For instance, the CREG has left room for ‘regulatory sandboxing’ in terms of transmission grid connections that may not be able to meet the (strict) requirements of (real-time) flexibility associated with (federal) flexible grid connections.