Capacity tariff clashes with battery projects and flexible energy contracts

Flemish Minister Melissa Depraetere acknowledges that the current capacity tariff is at odds with the energy transition, which focuses on flexibility and renewable production. In the Flemish Parliament, the minister indicated that the tariff, which discourages peak consumption, is at odds with innovative solutions such as battery energy storage (BESS) and dynamic energy contracts.

Flexible contracts respond to moments of low or even negative electricity prices. They aim to encourage companies to consume electricity when there is an abundance of sun or wind. However, the capacity tariff makes this difficult: users are penalised for high power peaks, even if these help to stabilise the grid during surpluses.

"We need to move away from systems that penalise consumers when they use electricity at the right time," said Depraetere.

Strategy in the making

The minister is therefore working on a new flexibility strategy, with a regulatory framework for dynamic contracts. In addition, she is preparing a 'Flexibility Plan 2030'. This plan should enable the transition to a smarter and more resilient energy system, in which digital meter data and a stronger role for the Flemish energy regulator are central.

A new energy rhythm

The traditional day and night tariffs, tailored to nuclear energy, are increasingly giving way to an energy landscape in which the sun during the day and the wind at night set the rhythm. This calls for a tariff system that evolves with the energy transition, rather than slowing it down.