Creos Luxembourg

energy company of Luxembourg

Creos Luxembourg S.A. owns and manages electricity networks and natural gas pipelines in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.[1]

Creos Luxembourg S.A.
IndustryEnergy
Founded2009
Fate2010: Integration of Luxgaz Distribution S.A. 2011: Integration of the electricity and gas networks of the City of Luxembourg
HeadquartersRue de Strassen, 105
L-2555 Luxembourg
Area served
Luxembourg
Key people
Laurence Zenner (CEO)
Mario Grotz (President)
ProductsElectricity and natural gas
Revenue311.3 million € (as at 31 December 2022)
Owner1. Encevo S.A. : 75.43%
2. City of Luxembourg : 20%
3. State of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg : 2.28%
4. 42 Luxembourg municipal authorities : 2.13%
5. Fédération des installateurs en équipements sanitaires et climatiques : 0.10%
6. Creos Luxembourg S.A. : 0.05%
Number of employees
859 (as at 31 December 2022)
ParentEncevo Group
Websitecreos-net.lu creosnews.lu (blog)

History change

Creos was formed as a result of a deal to unite:

  • Cegedel S.A. – the Grand-Ducal electricity company of Luxembourg. It was founded in 1928 and distributed 70% of the electricity in the country.
  • Soteg S.A. – Luxembourg's primary gas supplier - and Saar Ferngas AG – a distribution company created in 1929 in Saarland.[2]

2000s change

On 23 January 2009 Cegedel S.A. and Saar Ferngas AG were moved to Soteg S.A. This made a new energy group named Enovos. It included the parent company Enovos International S.A. and the two main subsidiaries: Creos (formerly Cegedel S.A.) in charge of network activities, and Enovos Luxembourg S.A. in charge of production, sales and marketing. Enovos and Creos each have a subsidiary for the German market: Enovos Deutschland and Creos Deutschland.[3][4]

2010s change

In 2010, Creos bought the natural gas networks from Luxgaz Distribution S.A.[5] On 1 January 2011, the City of Luxembourg transferred its electricity and natural gas networks and its teams to Creos in exchange for owning units of property in Creos. The owned units of property increased from 5.71% to 24.57%[6],.[7] Creos also owns units of property in Luxmetering (the Interest Economic Group which has piloted the smart metering network) since 2012 , Balansys (joint-venture between Creos and Fluxys Belgium) and Ampacimon since 2015 and NEXXTLAB since 2018.[8]

In order to make a difference between the parent company and its subsidiaries – energy provider Enovos and grid operator Creos –, Enovos International is now called Encevo.[9] Private equity firm Ardian sold its stake up to 24.92 percent in Encevo to China Southern Power Grid International, the second grid operator in China and in the world.[10][11]

2020s change

Following a reorganization of the Encevo Group in Germany at the end of October 2021, Creos Luxembourg sold its stake in Creos Deutschland Holding GmbH  .[12][13] On 1 July 2023, Laurence Zenner, previously head of CFL Cargo, became the new CEO of Creos Luxembourg.[14]

Business sector change

Creos Luxembourg S.A. plans, constructs and maintains the electricity and natural gas transmission and distribution networks in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

In Luxembourg, following the liberalisation of the energy markets, an independent organisation – the Luxembourg Institute of Regulation – organises and supervises access to the networks. The tariffs are subject to its approval. The energy suppliers are guaranteed transparent access to Creos's networks.[15]

Infrastructure change

Electricity network change

The majority of the electricity in Luxembourg comes from Germany via two double high-voltage 220,000 volt (220 kV) lines connected to the German network.[16] Interconnection with Belgium has become operational with a phase shifting transformer at the Schifflange Centre in October 2017.[17] Around 15% of the energy is produced locally (biogas, cogeneration, wind turbines, hydroelectricity and photovoltaics).[18]

Voltage change

The electricity is send to the six stations (Flebour, Roost, Itzig/Blooren, Heisdorf, Bertange and Schifflange) where the voltage is reduced from 220 to 65 kV. It is given to industries and large municipal distribution networks. The voltage is then reduced from 65 kV to 20 kV in more than 60 transformer stations in the whole country. The electric energy obtained is distributed to SMEs, towns and villages where the transformers reduce the current voltage to 0.4 kV before distributing it to the final consumer. A control centre, known as Electricity Dispatching, controls and manages these high and medium-voltage networks.

Length change

The total length of the Luxembourg electricity network managed by Creos is 10,123 kilometres, including 593 kilometres of high-voltage lines, 3,702 kilometres of medium-tension lines and 5,828 kilometres of low tension lines.

Electricity 2022
Electricity flow GWh 4,998.9
Electricity network peak MW 827.7
Length of network km 10,382.8

Natural gas network change

Thanks to its connections with Germany, Belgium and France, Luxembourg is linked to the interconnected gas networks throughout Europe. Monitored by Dispatching Gas, the high and medium-pressure pipelines distribute the gas to 60 communes that are connected to the national gas network. Pressure-reducing stations that supply the local networks then reduce the gas pressure. Creos distributes natural gas in 45 communes[19],.[20]

Natural gas 2022
Total capacity of gas network Nm3/h 319,000
Gas network peak Nm3/h 201,866
Volume transported GWh 6,797
Length of network km 2,192.5

Since 1 October 2015, Creos and Fluxys Belgium, in collaboration with their respective regulators ILR and CREG, have united the national markets of Luxembourg and Belgium into one Belux market. This integration, the first between two European Union member states, reflects the will of the European Union to create an European gas market without borders[21],[22],[23],.[24] Balansys, the joint venture between Creos and its Belgian counterpart Fluxys, is the balancing operator in the Belux zone from 1 June 2020. It is responsible for ensuring that the gas market is well supplied, without one of the two suppliers having to pay an entry fee for its gas on the other's market.[11]

Operations centres change

Creos has four regional centres. They build, operate, maintain and repair the electricity and natural gas networks.

The Roost Centre covers the central and northern regions. It covers the high, medium and low-voltage electricity services and the medium and low-pressure natural gas services, the central store and the mechanical and electrical workshops[25],.[26]

The Schifflange Centre covers the southern part of the country.

The Luxembourg City Centre, which covers the capital and the communes of Strassen and Hesperange, moved together with the Strassen headquarters to a new site in Merl at the end of 2021.[27]

The Contern Centre manages and adjusts the meters, in particular smart meters.

Dispatching for electricity and natural gas together with the monitoring rooms for remote network control and management are installed in Bettembourg since 2020.

Projects change

Creos works in two national projects; smart grids, electromobility and energy management.

European Energy Efficiency Directive change

In accordance with the law of 7 August 2012 that puts the European Energy Efficiency Directive into Luxembourg law, all the gas and electricity meters must be changed in the country, independently of the network operator. Creos has made 300,000 smart meters that record information about energy in Luxembourg. This includes 250,000 electricity meters and 50,000 gas meters. The installation of these new electricity and gas meters – called Smarty – in Luxembourg homes will allow the creation of networks with real intelligence: smart grids. These smart grids can monitor decentralised electricity production (like wind turbines and photovoltaic panels), regulating the variations of the feeds into the distribution networks with greater precision and managing the demand peaks linked with the charging of electric vehicles more effectively. The law from 7 August 2012 also demands that the metering system must be able to receive water and heating[28],[29],[30],[31],.[32]

Plans change

Creos will install 800 public charging stations for electric cars and hybrid plug-in cars across the country. Each charging station will have two charging points, and the network – called Chargy – will include 1,600 parking spaces for electric vehicles. Creos will be responsible for the deployment, operation and maintenance of the public charging infrastructure on its distribution network, a total of 749 stations out of the 800 that are to be installed.[33] In January 2021, Creos inaugurated the first two Superchargy ultra-fast charging terminals at Kirchberg, a district of Luxembourg City. By 2023, 88 SuperChargy direct current (DC) terminals will be along the country's main roads and motorways, as well in some Park & Ride car parks, 19 locations in all.[34]

Creos is also preparing the Third Industrial Revolution of the country. This convergence of IT, renewable energy and means of transport will have an impact on how the power grids are managed. For this evolution, the grid operator joined forces with Powerdale S.A . to create NEXXTLAB, which aims to make innovative solutions in the field of energy management with electro-mobility.

References change

  1. "Creos Luxembourg S.A.: Private Company Information - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  2. "Cegedel S.A. - Le profil de Cegedel - Présentation" (in French). Cegedel S.A. Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Archived 2007-08-07.
  3. Annual Report 2009. Creos Luxembourg S.A. 2010.
  4. "mywort.lu in Stroossen - CREOS Luxembourg S.A." mywort.lu (in French). Archived from the original on 2017-02-25.
  5. "DÉVELOPPEMENT DURABLE Enovos poursuit sur la lignée de Luxgaz". gemengen.lu. 6 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  6. "Leo intègre le groupe Enovos". gemengen.lu. 1 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  7. Fossil Fuel Country Note - Luxembourg. OECD. September 2016.
  8. "NEXXTLAB – the energy to do it". www.nexxtlab.lu. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  9. "Enovos International Rebrands to become Encevo". 3 October 2016.
  10. "Ardian to sell Encevo stake to Chinese investor". luxtimes.lu. August 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  11. 11.0 11.1 "Balansys, premier pas vers un marché européen du gaz". paperjam.lu. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  12. "Fusion: Aus Creos und Enovos wird Encevo" (in German). Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  13. "Creos und Enovos rücken näher zusammen"" (in German). Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  14. RTL Today (April 3, 2023). [happas://today.rtl.lu/news/luxembourg/a/2048300.html "Laurence Zenner to take over as new CEO of Creos Luxembourg"]. RTL Today.
  15. Les acteurs du marché – Fournisseur, gestionnaire de réseau… Qui fait quoi ?. Institut Luxembourgeois de Régulation.
  16. Labro, Thierry (10 November 2016). "Le courant français ne manquera pas". Luxemburger Wort.
  17. S.A., Creos Luxembourg. "IC BeDeLux - Technical Go live of the Phase Shifter Transformer is foreseen 11 October 2017". www.creos-net.lu. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
  18. Schmit, Laurent (2016). "Gut vernetzt". Luxemburger Wort.
  19. "Gaz naturel au Luxembourg". erdgas.lu.
  20. Réseaux d'électricité et de gaz naturel. Creos Luxembourg S.A. 2014.
  21. "Creos and Fluxys Integrating Belgium-Luxembourg Gas Market". lngworldnews.com. 22 May 2014. Archived from the original on 25 February 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  22. "Belgium, Luxembourg announce first link of gas markets". reuters.com. 1 October 2015.
  23. Graham, Sarah (10 November 2015). "Be-Lux Common Gas Trade Area First European Integration Project for the Gas Sector". Chronicle.lu.
  24. "Creos Luxembourg and Fluxys Belgium heading for an integrated Belgium-Luxembourg gas market". fluxys.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-25. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  25. Coubray, Céline. "Inauguration du Centre régional et ateliers de Roost". archiduc.lu. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  26. "Centres d'exploitation". creosnet.lu (in French).
  27. "Nouveau siège pour Creos à Luxembourg - ARCHIDUC - Magazine d'Architecture (Luxembourg)". Archiduc (in French). 2018-02-21. Archived from the original on 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  28. Graham, Sarah (2016). "Smart Meter Replacement and Installation Requirements to Come into Effect on Friday". Chronicle.lu. Archived from the original on 2017-02-25.
  29. "Smart grid Creos". Smart Grid Systems and Interoperability. Archived from the original on 2017-02-25. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  30. Cuellar, Jorge (2014). Smart Grid Security: Second International Workshop. Springer.
  31. "First Electric Vehicle Recharging Stations Inaugurated". Chronicle.lu. 2016.
  32. "Electromobility: deployment of the national infrastructure of 800 public charging stations by 2020". The official portal of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Archived from the original on 2017-01-19.
  33. Hennebert, Jean-Michel (2016). "400 bornes dans les P+R, 400 autres sur la voirie". paperjam.lu. Archived from the original on 2017-03-11.
  34. "Super Chargy - Ultra fast charging stations in Luxembourg". superchargy.lu. Retrieved 2021-08-24.

Other websites change