Keizerslaan 20 Boulevard de l'Empereur, 20 B-1000 Brussel-Bruxelles
PRESS RELEASE
Tel.: 02 546 70 11 Fax: 02 546 70 10
15 November 2012 Interim Statement Q3 2012
Elia Group confirms financial forecasts and investments for 2012, quality of electricity supply remains very high
Elia works with ENTSO-E to prepare 2012-2013 Winter Outlook and cooperates with authorities on its role in maintaining balance between generation and consumption
APX-ENDEX announces plans to divide electricity and gas businesses into two separate entities
Financial forecasts As stated in the half-year report for 2012, Elia Group cannot make any specific profit forecasts since the annual result depends on parameters that will not be known (such as the inflation figure for December 2012) or calculated (such as the average Belgian 10-year interest rate, the beta of the Elia share and the total amount invested by Eurogrid/50Hertz) until the end of the year. Elia Group confirms the financial forecasts for 2012 thanks to very good results in Germany which offset the less good results in Belgium due to an record low 10-year interest rate. The investments and major maintenance works planned by both transmission system operators for 2012 are on schedule. APX-ENDEX split into two entities: gas and electricity The APX-ENDEX power exchange, active in the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK, announced its plans to split its two core businesses: one entity for electricity and one entity for gas. The purpose of the split is to provide greater flexibility and development options for both activities in Europe’s rapidly changing energy markets. The new electricity entity will be held by Elia (29.16%) and our Dutch counterpart TenneT (70.84%). Elia currently has a 20% stake in APX-ENDEX. ENTSO-E and Elia Winter Outlooks As European transmission system operators do not have their own generating facilities, they regularly carry out forecasting studies to check whether the estimated demand for electricity can be met by the available generating capacity, taking account of anticipated imports and exports. Various scenarios are simulated, including the loss of their biggest generating unit or grid component. The aim is to assess security of supply for electricity on the basis of multiple generation scenarios and various grid component availability scenarios. Forecasting studies are carried out by each of the 41 European transmission system operators and are consolidated by ENTSO-E (the European network of transmission system operators) for each summer period (Summer Outlook) and each winter period (Winter Outlook). The ENTSO-E Winter Outlook 2012-2013) will be published at the end of November, as will Elia’s Winter Outlook that will factor in the potential impact of a prolonged unavailability of the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 reactors. Elia is also working with the authorities, the distribution system operators, suppliers, generators and balance responsible parties (ARPs) to prepare measures to be deployed in case of insufficient local generation.
New tariff for public service obligations to fund measures to support renewable energy in Wallonia As the operator of the local transmission grid in Wallonia, Elia is required to purchase green certificates - at a minimum unit price of €65 - from Walloon facilities that generate power from renewable sources. Funding for this support mechanism gives rise to a surcharge for public service obligations to fund measures to support renewable energy in Wallonia. CREG set this surcharge at €1.1889/MWh for 2012 (decree of 22 December 2011). The number of green power certificates purchased by Elia has risen sharply since the start of 2012. There are two reasons for this: the increase in the number of expected applications for the awarding of green power certificates and a market that is largely saturated. As a result, CREG set the surcharge at €5.9445/MWh (decree of 27 September 2012). The adjusted surcharge took effect on 1 October 2012. Germany’s four TSOs present modified grid development plan to regulator BNetzA The grid development plan drafted by Germany’s four TSOs - 50Hertz, Amprion, TenneT and TransnetBW – was developed in connection with the Federal Requirement Plan for Transmission Networks. After the initial presentation of the plan in May 2012 various changes were made to the technical assumptions. The modified grid development plan was submitted to the regulator in August and will form the basis for a broad debate on the requirements for modernising, upgrading and expanding the electricity grid over the next 10 years. The plan complies with 50Hertz’s planned investments for the period and offers fresh opportunities for organic growth by Elia Group. Financial calendar Publication of the 2012 annual results Availability of the 2012 Annual Report on the website Interim information Q1 2013 General Meeting of Shareholders Payment of the dividend for 2012
28 February 2013 early April 2013 mid-May 2013 21 May 2013 early June 2013
About Elia: The Elia Group is organised around two electricity transmission system operators: Elia Transmission in Belgium and (in cooperation with Industry Funds Management) 50Hertz Transmission, one of the four German transmission system operators, active in the north and east of Germany. With more than 1,700 employees and a transmission grid comprising some 13,400 km of high-voltage connections serving 30 million consumers, the Elia Group is one of Europe’s top 5 TSOs. It efficiently, reliably and securely transmits electricity from generators to distribution system operators and major industrial consumers, while also importing and exporting electricity from and to neighbouring countries. The Group is a driving force behind the development of the European electricity market and the integration of energy generated from renewable sources. In addition to its system operator activities in Belgium and Germany, the Elia Group offers businesses a range of consultancy and engineering services. The Group operates under the legal entity Elia System Operator, a listed company whose reference shareholder is municipal holding company Publi-T. For additional information, please contact Elia: Media: Lise Mulpas Axelle Pollet
+32 2 546 73 75 +32 2 546 75 11
+32 478 65 28 90 +32 475 84 38 91
lise.mulpas@elia.be axelle.pollet@elia.be
Investor relations: Bert Maes Tom Schockaert
+32 2 546 72 39 +32 2 546 75 79
+32 472 40 69 97 +32 494 42 28 65
Website: This press release is available on www.elia.be.
bert.maes@elia.be tom.schockaert@elia.be