General approach to investment planning

10-year investment planning

Each year, Fluxys updates its ten-year indicative investment programme. These updates take account of changes in requirements in terms of natural gas supply, requests for new connections and the changing needs of grid users identified through subscription periods and international market consultations among other things.

 

Simulations based on expected evolution

When updating its investment programme, Fluxys uses data showing how demand for transmission capacity is expected to develop and forecasted use of entry zones to carry out simulations on the grid as it currently stands. A number of scenarios are considered: a scenario primarily showing east-west flows, a scenario primarily showing west-east flows, and a number of other sub-scenarios.

For each scenario Fluxys examines what investments are needed to ensure that natural gas can be supplied at the guaranteed minimum pressure at all supply or interconnection points and that adequate resources are available to maintain grid balance. Fluxys also attaches great importance to working closely with operators of neighbouring grids since the success of certain projects on Fluxys' own grid requires consultation and agreement on the nature and timing of investment needed on neighbouring grids.

Five to six years for projects of some scale

Fluxys adopts this approach to respond as effectively as possible to market needs and also take into consideration the period required to complete a project. It takes approximately five to six years to implement infrastructure projects of any scale because procedures for establishing pipeline routes in a densely populated country like Belgium are becoming ever more complex and a range of permits and laws need to be taken into consideration.

In March 2009, the Belgian federation of pipeline transmission companies (Fetrapi), of which Fluxys is a member, and Essenscia, the coordination body representing the chemical sector, published a memorandum following the regional elections. The memorandum sets out several recommendations to make permitting procedures more transparent and more efficient. Among other things, Fetrapi and Essenscia are calling for a reduction in the overall time required to obtain all the necessary permits and efficient coordination between the various political levels implied in the process.

Tips for using search operators

Use "quotation marks" to search for a series of words or a phrase in a specific order.

Boolean operators

You can find a group of words or a phrase by using the link words AND, OR and NOT:
known as Boolean operators, these words are used to combine terms in the search field.

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  • NOT: The term preceded by NOT must not be included in the publication. Typing in Apple NOT Pear will return publications containing the word Apple but not the word Pear.