Flanders will not be investing 1.56 billion euros into grid operator Fluvius after all, as the deal has collapsed, Flemish Energy minister Hans Bonte told De Tijd on Friday. Fluvius denies the deal has definitively broken down, saying that a decision will not be taken until the middle of May.
Fluvius is preparing to invest around 11 billion euros over the next decade to modernise and reinforce Flanders’ electricity grid, but it faces a capital shortfall of around 1 billion euros this year, with a further 560 million euros needed by 2029. To help bridge that gap, Flanders had been prepared to invest directly in the company through its investment vehicle, ParticipatieMaatschappij Vlaanderen (PMV).
Those negotiations have now broken down. “On Wednesday, the Fluvius board of directors rejected a good proposal that the Flemish government had worked hard on,” Bonte said. The collapse of the deal puts Fluvius at risk of a credit rating downgrade. Bonte has already warned the network operator that the cost must not be passed on to energy consumers.
Fluvius itself, however, is not yet characterising the situation as a definitive breakdown. “There is currently a valuation dossier from PMV on the table at Fluvius,” said spokesperson Björn Verdoodt. “But it is up to the boards of directors of the various distribution network operators to assess that dossier and decide whether or not to agree to it. That process has yet to begin and will run until mid-May.”
#FlandersNewsService | PHOTO © Peter Hilz / HH
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