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PRESS RELEASE
15 May 2012
Interim statement Q1 2012 •
Elia joins the BEL 20 index and reiterates its confidence in the 2012 financial results.
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General Meeting of shareholders approved a gross dividend of €1.47 per share, to be paid out on 30 May 2012.
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Clarification of German regulation with positive consequences for the Group.
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Wind power generation in Belgium and actual energy flows within the 50Hertz system are published on the Internet on a daily basis.
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Green light for the construction of the Vieselbach–Altenfeld section of the SouthWest Interconnector.
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ENTSO-E announces its 2012 TYNDP package.
Financial forecasts The use of the transmission system in Belgium and Germany is largely as forecast. Investments and maintenance work by Elia Transmission (Belgium) and 50Hertz Transmission (Germany) for the first quarter of the year are in line with the planning. As reported in the 2011 annual results, Elia is unable to give any concrete profit forecasts since the annual result depends upon parameters that will either not be known until the end of 2012 (such as the inflation figure for December 2012) or else can only be calculated at that time (e.g. average Belgian ten-year interest rate; the beta of Elia shares; total investments by Eurogrid/50Hertz). On the other hand, a number of major, positive changes have entered into force in 2012 within the German regulatory framework, such as the switch to now paying fair remuneration in the year of investment (instead of 2 years later, as in the past), allowing offshore investments to be depreciated over 20 (instead of 40 years previously), and enabling the regulator and federal government to enforce permits for grid expansions that are of national and European importance. The General Meeting of Shareholders on 15 May approved the gross dividend for 2011 of €1.47 per share. The dividend for the financial year 2011 will be paid out on 30 May 2012 (the date of detachment of the coupon is 25 May, before opening of the stock exchange) in exchange for coupon 8, with or without strip VVPR 8. Payment will be made at Belgian branches of Belfius, BNP-Paribas-Fortis, KBC-CBC and ING. ING is also the central payment agent. Elia to join the BEL 20 index On 27 February, NYSE Euronext Brussels announced that Elia System Operator (Elia) was to be included in the BEL 20 index. The change took place on 19 March. Joining the BEL 20 index confirms the importance of the Elia Group's role and mission in supporting and implementing European policies on energy and the climate. Being part of the BEL 20 will boost the visibility of the Elia group even more and help provide it with the resources it needs to continue its strategy and growth based on the development in Europe of high-performance grids interconnecting offshore and onshore generation and demand. Elia publishes wind power generation forecasts On 23 February, Elia launched a new application on its website for wind energy data forecasts on a 7-daybasis. Depending on which filters are chosen, the tool allows to view a real-time estimate on a quarterhourly basis, or to focus on offshore or onshore generation data only. Elia makes these forecasts compared to actual wind power generation in Belgium available to market players, who by closely monitoring the
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