Electricity shortage (in Belgium), blackout or power cuts planned for this winter

[moinsdewatt]

Belgium fears power shortage, minister attacks Engie

AFP 24 September 2018

Belgium fears a shortage of nuclear power in November, a situation for which it would hold the producer Electrabel "fully responsible", a Belgian minister said on Monday, attacking the maintenance program of the plants operated by this subsidiary of the French giant Engie.

Electrabel had announced Friday that it should postpone the restart of its reactors Tihange 2 and Tihange 3, postponed respectively to June and March.

As a result, most of the nuclear reactors operated by the Engie subsidiary are not available for the winter season.

Authorities have even estimated that only one of them would be in operation in November, which caused a wrath on Monday the Minister of Energy Marie-Christine Marghem.

In a press release, the minister said she was "shocked by the behavior of Electrabel which, a week after having assured Elia (operator of the electricity transmission network, editor's note) of the availability of its means of production, announced that it was reviewing the planning interventions on power plants creating a difference of 3.000 MW compared to Elia's forecasts ".

If it is not yet a question of "load shedding" solutions, Ms. Marghem believes that "the situation is much worse than in 2014", when Belgium had to resolve to organize the shortage by providing for temporary cuts by sector .

"The federal government considers that Electrabel is entirely responsible for this situation, for not having planned work or maintenance in a sufficiently intelligent way for us to be able to have the production of the nuclear fleet sufficient at the start of winter. ", also said the minister after a press conference in Brussels.

Consultations are planned this week with the Belgian energy sector but also with the ministers of neighboring countries "in order to maintain a stable and sufficient security of supply", Ms. Marghem added.

Electrabel operates seven nuclear reactors in Belgium, four in Doel near Antwerp (north) and three in Tihange in the Liège region (east), facilities often criticized for their obsolescence. The poor performances of this subsidiary weigh on the results of the Engie group.

More than half of the electricity produced in Belgium comes from nuclear power.

https://www.connaissancedesenergies.org ... gie-180924

[moinsdewatt]

To avoid a shortage, Belgium could import French electricity

Posted on 02 / 10 / 2018 New Factory

To avoid a shortage due to the difficulties of several Engie nuclear reactors, Belgium could import 1 000 megawatts of electricity from France during the winter months, said October 2 in front of the Belgian Parliament the general manager of the network manager Elia.

During the winter months, the Hexagon could come to the rescue of Belgium. The latter plans to import 1 000 megawatts of electricity in order to cope with a possible shortage due to the shutdown of several nuclear reactors, said October 2 in front of the Belgian Parliament the general manager of network manager Elia.

"For the months of November and December, France will have an available capacity of 1 megawatts which can be exported from France to Belgium, which is good news (...)", declared Chris Peeters in front of a parliamentary committee.

Engie Electrabel recognizes a "gigantic" crisis

Of Belgium's seven nuclear reactors, all of which are operated by the French company Engie via its subsidiary Electrabel and normally producing half of the country's electricity needs, only one is currently operational. Engie, however, announced Friday that maintenance operations on the Tihange 1 nuclear reactor, located in the province of Liège, would end earlier than expected, in mid-November.

A week earlier, however, Electrabel had said that the shutdown of two other reactors - Tihange 2 and Tihange 3 - would be extended by several months, at least until March 2019, because of the deterioration of concrete in some buildings.

In view of this "additional and unexpected unavailability of several nuclear power plants for the winter of 2018-2019", Elia estimated in a press release published last week between 1.600 and 1.700 megawatts the "need for additional capacity to guarantee security of supply of Belgium this winter ".

Speaking to Belgian parliamentarians, Thierry Saegeman, director of nuclear activities at Engie Electrabel, described the crisis as "gigantic", adding that the French group was helping Elia to find additional capacities to cope with the shortage.

https://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/l ... se.N749669

[Christophe]

Of course it will import ... every day there are exchanges to balance the national networks ... they will be just more important.

This does not prevent 7 reactors out of 8 ... it is a good example of the all "power" of nuclear ... or rather of the nuclear pre-pension (to speak Belgian)

[moinsdewatt]

Engie extends the shutdown of the Belgian nuclear reactor Doel 1

Reuters 14 / 11 / 2018

Electrabel, a Belgian subsidiary of Engie, extended the shutdown of the Doel nuclear power plant's first reactor for six weeks, until January 31, in order to continue repairing a faulty cooling system.

"There have been a few inspections and we have seen the need for longer repair work, so it will take a little longer than expected," an Electrabel spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The Doel 1 reactor, with a capacity of 433 megawatts, is the oldest in Belgium. It has been stopped since last spring for maintenance operations and repairs, following a leak discovered in April.

The restart of production of Doel 1 was planned for December 10.

The situation is tense in Belgium as winter approaches as only two of the country's seven nuclear reactors produce electricity.

Engie, which operates all Belgian nuclear reactors, hoped to revive four by the end of the year including the restart of a unit in Tihange occurred Monday, earlier than expected.

https://www.boursorama.com/bourse/actua ... 2191ca127b

[Exnihiloest]

...
This does not prevent 7 reactors out of 8 ... it is a good example of the all "power" of nuclear ... or rather of the nuclear pre-pension (to speak Belgian)

while the wind, it works of thunder!

14.000 wind turbines abandoned in the USA

[moinsdewatt]

No blackouts, but imports:

BELGIUM DEPENDENT ON THE ELECTRICITY OF ITS NEIGHBORS

Mar 8 Jan 2019 lenergeek

Belgium, deprived of several nuclear reactors, had a complicated 2018 year. According to the figures published by the Belgian grid operator 7 January 2019, the country dish has imported more than a fifth of its electricity needs. Bad news for the country's energy independence, but also for its ecological footprint. While Brussels wants to develop renewable energies, they are progressing at an insufficient pace to really replace nuclear ... Thus, the use of gas plants has never been so important!

An unexpected 2018 balance


At the end of 2018, the prolonged shutdowns of the Doel and Tihange reactors caused fears of a shortage of electricity in Belgium. With falling temperatures coming in, this idea has even become one of the specialists in the sector. That is why the authorities finally made agreements with foreign countries and especially with Germany, in order to ensure the supply of Belgian households.

Belgium has turned to its neighbors and this is reflected in its mix. Elia, the network manager has actually published the 2018 year's balance sheet, the 7 January 2019. The figures are quite unexpected compared to those posted the previous year. While nuclear power accounted for almost half of the electricity produced in 2017, this figure dropped to only 34%. Elia even states that "nuclear production reached historically low levels in November (1 TWh, ie 15%) and December (1,1 TWh, ie 17%)".

At that time, only the Doel 3 reactor was in operation. A blow for Electrabel, a subsidiary of Engie, and a problem for the Belgian authorities who had to import massive amounts of electricity. Fortunately, thanks to European electrical interactions, these difficulties did not have major consequences for households. In fact, electricity produced abroad, and particularly in France, is cheaper than that generated in Belgium.

Electricity imports rise sharply

As FEBEG, the Federation of Belgian Energy Suppliers, reminds us, "when energy is cheaper abroad, suppliers buy in these markets". In 2017, imports represented 8% of the electricity mix, while 2018 is a record year with 22% of electricity produced abroad, ie 17,4 TWh.

However, while the historical rise in imports did not impact households' bills, the use of gas-fired power plants has seriously deteriorated the environmental performance of the policy of the Minister of Energy, Marie-Christine Marghem. In this case, it is natural gas that stands out. Its share in the energy mix is ​​27% with a peak recorded at 2,9 TWh last November.

Imports, gas, but where are the renewable energies? In the space of one year, they progress from 11% to 12% of the Belgian electricity mix. Elia explains that solar alone represents 4%. The evolution of renewable energy is therefore positive, but these remain very much in the minority.

https://lenergeek.com/2019/01/08/belgiq ... e-voisins/

[Christophe]

Good!

At 0,28 € the kWh in Belgium (and that will increase!) And the fall of the price of the peak watt PVc, the installations become profitable in less than 3 years for the private individuals !! Without any subsidies or help!

That the Belgians move their ass to do PV installations so!

[izentrop]

A big blackout of European power was narrowly avoided on Thursday.
A problem of interconnection between Germany and Austria has almost led to a domino effect in France and I suppose in Belgium too. Explanations: https://www.estrepublicain.fr/actualite ... que-geante

[Adrien (ex-nico239)]

So it's the manufacturers who saved us by lowering their production

Should be happy on the spot

[Christophe]

Belgium has exported? Too bad it is cumulated with Germany ...

The article does not explain where exactly the fault comes from except that it is a loss of frequency / power on the French network ...

Uh, it was blowing last Thursday?

On the other hand it explains that in 2006 it was not finally the fault of the wind turbines as we had said at the time !!