The Walloon Parliament adopted, this Wednesday, a decree put forward by the Minister of Energy, Cécile Neven, which clarifies the responsibilities of Elia and the distribution network operators (DNOs) in managing the data needed to balance the electricity grid. Once in force, it will allow new contracts to be concluded so that batteries, industrial sites or flexible production units can help maintain the balance between electricity production and consumption.
At every moment, electricity production must match consumption. With the development of renewable energy and the electrification of uses, Elia, the transmission network operator (TNO), needs more technical means to maintain this balance.
Batteries, industrial sites or flexible production units can contribute to this by automatically adjusting their consumption or production according to the grid's needs. To measure this contribution, Elia needs data at a higher frequency than every quarter of an hour.
However, the Walloon framework placed the entire responsibility for managing this data on the distribution network operators (DNOs), which currently lack the technical means to collect it at this frequency. This situation led the Walloon regulator for electricity and gas markets (CWaPE) to block the conclusion of new contracts for this service in the region until now. Operators already active were nonetheless able to continue their activities thanks to a transitional solution.
The decree adopted this Wednesday in Parliament allows DNOs and Elia to set out, by agreement, the roles and responsibilities of each party. Once in force, it will remove the legal obstacle that prevented new flexibility capacities from taking part in grid balancing in Wallonia.
“We need every useful solution to support electrification and meet the region's needs”, stresses Cécile Neven, Walloon Minister of Energy. “When a regulatory obstacle blocks their deployment, our role is to remove it. This decree will enable new Walloon operators to contribute to grid balance, within a clear and secure framework”.