a map. Without investments in the electricity grid, these municipalities can face (local) problems

Solar panels that don’t work, electric cars that you can’t charge or a heat pump that can no longer heat your home. These are scenarios we would prefer to avoid, especially as we are now going to make the massive switch to electrification in the coming years. At Fluvius – which operates the low and medium voltage network in Flanders – they realized this and this week proposed a €4 billion investment plan.

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This plan also includes two interesting maps. One of the maps shows how we’re doing today. “And to be clear: It’s still very good at the moment,” says spokesperson Bjorn Verdutt. “In terms of performance, we are in the top five in Europe.”

However, the map actually shows the municipalities that have been given a soft color. “These are the municipalities with networks that are really a little bit closer to congestion.” This does not mean that the light actually goes out, but that there may be peak moments approaching the overload.

You see the congregations there, especially in Flemish Brabant. How did this happen? “It has to do with how those nets were built in the past,” Verdot says. “In more rural municipalities, the electricity sometimes has to cut several kilometers before it reaches the electricity cabinet. These are the issues that we want to address through our plan.”

This will also be necessary, if you look at the map of 2035. Fluvius has calculated a number of scenarios and in the moderate scenario – where we will increase heating with heat pumps and drive electric – the network operator anticipates many problems without additional investment. Areas already tanned in 2022 will face the fiercest problems.