Belgian electric distributor Elia announced that electricity supply may be problematic during winter in the coming years. This is because more large gas-fired power stations are being decommissioned in the country.

Belgium was in the brink of a massive power outage January of this year. Elia CEO Jacques Vandermeiren said ‘On 17 January this year we were close to a situation where we would have had to have cut off the power supply to part of the country in order to avert a complete crash.’

He added that thanks to electricity importation, this was averted. However, the imported supply was, according to finance daily De Tijd, the equivalent of the production of three large nuclear reactors.

Elia clarified that they don’t see problems with electricity supply anytime soon. But if more of their gas-fired power stations were to be decommissioned, then surge in demand during winter of the coming years may not be supplied.

The company said that Belgium needs an energy pact that will encourage investment in the energy supply industry and will outline the sources of energy the country will use in the future.