Credit: MEA

On Friday 9 December 2022, Luxembourg’s Minister for Energy, Claude Turmes, presented an update on the current situation in terms of the security of electricity supply, the national risk preparedness plan for the electricity sector and a new tool to monitor the national level of electricity supply in Luxembourg, the “StroumMonitor”.

Minister Turmes specified: “Currently, the risk of electrical interruption is not higher than in previous years. In order to provide real-time information on the supply situation, we have set up, together with Creos, a new tool, the ‘StroumMonitor’. We remain vigilant and are prepared: if the situation were to worsen, we have all the necessary crisis tools.”

According to the winter outlook report of the European association for the cooperation of transmission system operators (ENTSO-E), Luxembourg is one of the Central European countries where the analysis showed that the risk of electricity shortages is currently not higher than in the past. A specific modelling of German electricity network operators (Stresstest) confirmed this analysis as well.

In order to take into account the new geopolitical situation and the energy crisis which also affects the electricity sector, the Ministry of Energy and Spatial Planning has provided an update of Luxembourg's risk preparedness plan, in close collaboration with the Energy Taskforce set up by the Government Council, the High Commission for National Protection (HCPN), the network manager Creos and FEDIL.

The plan has been supplemented with different preventive measures, to deal with an anticipated shortage of electricity, and with an improved description of the related measures.

This plan defines three phases in the security of supply: “Prevention”, “Early warning” and “Crisis”.

1. Prevention

During this phase, which corresponds to the default situation, monitoring of the security of supply is guaranteed to ensure a secure supply of electricity.

2. Early warning

An early warning is declared following the detection of a tangible and specific risk for the security of the electricity supply. The measures in this phase aim to prevent the progression of the detected risk towards a real crisis.

When this phase is triggered, the HCPN's “Emergency intervention plan – energy” provides in particular for the activation of an energy failure risk assessment unit.

3. Crisis

The crisis phase represents a blackout that is about to occur or that has already occurred. The measures in this phase aim to mitigate the impact of the crisis on society.

If manual load shedding is decided, a priority list establishes an order of load shedding. Households and critical infrastructure will be offloaded last.

When a crisis is triggered, the “Emergency intervention plan – energy” provides in particular for the activation of a crisis unit. Furthermore, the crisis must be notified to the European Union (EU).

The “StroumMonitor” tool (to be consulted on www.creos.lu) has been set up to indicate peak consumption times and to alert the population in the event of an electricity shortage in an efficient and understandable manner.

A true electricity weather forecast, the "StroumMonitor" qualifies the national level of electricity supply in Luxembourg. Clear signals from the Creos network operator guide consumers to adopt the right actions and to ensure a secure supply of electricity for all. The "StroumMonitor" alerts the population in the event of a power shortage (orange signal or red signal, depending on the criticality of the situation). It also indicates the daily peak hours of consumption (with white bars):

  • Green: "Power grid in balance - but let's be aware of our consumption";
  • Orange: "Strained power grid - let's try to reduce our consumption";
  • Red: "Very tense power grid - let's limit our consumption to avoid any blackout";
  • White bars: “Peak hours”

Even when the signal is green, it is advisable to be aware of one's consumption. By adopting the right actions on a daily basis, everyone can contribute more conscientiously to climate protection while reducing their energy bills. These gestures are particularly welcome during peak hours, indicated by white bars, in order to make the electrical system more flexible and to limit the production of electricity from fossil fuels, in particular gas, according to Luxembourg's Ministry of Energy.

More information and advice on consuming less electricity is available online via: www.zesumme-spueren.lu.