2014-09-23

In the event of power shortages in Belgium this winter, the government may activate a load-shedding plan in order to prevent a general blackout. At Fluxys Belgium, every arrangement has been made to deal with temporary electricity outages and ensure continuity of natural gas supply to end users as well as cross-border flows.


The smooth operation of the Zeebrugge LNG terminal, the Loenhout underground storage facility and the installations required for system operation (and the security of Belgium's natural gas supply) will not be affected in the event of a scheduled power outage. Amongst these facilities, two are also using engines which are solely running on natural gas.
These facilities are also included on the list of priority users drawn up by Fluxys Belgium together with power system operator Elia. It is worth noting that Fluxys Belgium's network plays a crucial role in case of blackout to ensure a resumption of power production based on gas-fired power plants.

The Fluxys Belgium facilities that could be affected by the load-shedding plan are its pressure-reducing stations. Located throughout Belgium, these stations lower the pressure of natural gas so that it can move from Fluxys Belgium's high-pressure network into the medium- and low-pressure networks of distribution system operators, which convey the gas to individual consumers and SMEs.
Fluxys Belgium will make the necessary arrangements in consultation with the distribution system operators to ensure that pressure-reducing stations are not impacted by any planned outage.



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