Keizerslaan 20 Boulevard de l'Empereur, 20 B-1000 Brussels
PRESS RELEASE
Tel.: +32 2 546 70 11 Fax: +32 2 546 70 10
24 March 2010
Elia teams in action in view of Earth Hour The Elia teams, in cooperation with their colleague’s transmission system operators of the European interconnected grid, are preparing in view of Earth Hour, the action organized worldwide by World Wildlife Fund on Saturday 26 March. Indeed, if all European citizens were to switch the lights off and on en masse at the very same moment, this action could provoke serious fluctuations in the balance between electricity generation and consumption on the European grid. This might ultimately entice consequences for the continuity of supply, leading to interrupting customers' supply in the most severe case. Via its website Elia informs the public on the specific measures it takes in order to enable the action to proceed smoothly and amongst others recommends not to switch on again all at the same time in order to spread the effect over time. More information on www.elia.be.
About Elia: Elia is the Belgian transmission system operator, transmitting electricity efficiently, reliably and securely from producers to distribution system operators and major industrial users. Elia is responsible for importing and exporting electricity from and to neighbouring countries. Elia owns the entire Belgian very high voltage grid (150 to 380 kV) and some 94% (ownership and user rights) of the Belgian high-voltage grid (30 to 70 kV). The Elia grid comprises 5,608 km of overhead lines and 2,775 km of underground connections and is a key link between electricity markets in northern and southern Europe. It also links Belgian producers and consumers. Belgium's recent investment in interconnection capacity with its neighbours makes it one of the most open and interconnected grids in Europe. Elia has recently expanded its activities on a broader European level and, following its acquisition of German TSO 50Hertz and in cooperation with Industry Funds Management (IFM), is now one of the top five transmission system operators in Europe. For more information, please contact Elia: Media: Eva Suls Axelle Pollet
+32 2 546 73 78 +32 2 546 75 11
+32 477 48 80 09 +32 475 84 38 91
eva.suls@elia.be axelle.pollet@elia.be
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