The Modular Offshore Grid now conditions offshore state concessions

King Philippe signed a royal decree on October 8, 2026, amending the conditions and procedure for granting state concessions to the offshore electricity transmission system operator. Published in the Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur belge) on October 29, 2026 (2nd edition, reference C − 2026/007960, p. 58311), the text explicitly makes the concession subject to the commissioning of each part of the Modular Offshore Grid (MOG). The decree is supported by the Minister of the North Sea A. Verlinden and the Minister of Energy M. Bihet.

Three amendments to Article 11 of the 2018 decree

The measure is integrated into the royal decree of March 1, 2018, regarding the conditions and procedure for granting state concessions to the grid operator, of which Article 11 is rewritten on three points:

• the mention reserving the obligations related to the MOG “without prejudice to the obligations referred to and provided for under Article 6/2 of the Law of April 29, 1999” is repealed;
• the general requirement that “electricity transmission installations be constructed and commissioned” is replaced by the obligation that “each part of the Modular Offshore Grid referred to in Article 2, 7°ter, a) to e), of the Law of April 29, 1999 be constructed and commissioned”;
• a new point 2°/1 requires the concessionaire to guarantee that each part of the MOG extension referred to in Article 2, 7°ter, f), “shall be commissioned no later than the date fixed in the decree issued pursuant to Article 6/5, § 2” of the same law.

The legal basis is Article 13/1, § 2, first paragraph, of the Law of April 29, 1999, on the organization of the electricity market, last amended by the Law of May 12, 2019.

A schedule already set for October 1, 2031

The deadline for the first phase is known: a royal decree of August 27, 2026 (C − 2026/006537, published in the Belgian Official Gazette on September 10, 2026, p. 49465) set October 1, 2031, as the final commissioning date for phase 1 of the MOG extension, as defined in Article 2, § 2, 1°, of the royal decree of June 16, 2024, establishing a compensation mechanism for state concession holders in the event of delay or unavailability of the MOG.

The new point 2°/1 makes this date, and those that will be set for subsequent phases, a contractual condition of the concession and no longer merely a parameter of a compensation scheme. The regulatory timeline has tightened in a few weeks: on September 7, 2026, another royal decree (published on September 25, 2026) aligned the validity period of cable-laying authorizations with the MOG commissioning schedule.

Application to concessions granted since 2024

Article 2 of the text, however, limits the scope of the new point 2°/1: it applies only to electricity transmission installations for which the state concession is granted as of January 1, 2024. The other modifications to Article 11, for their part, apply without time limitation.

The procedure was informed by prior opinions:

• opinion (A)3137 of the Commission for Electricity and Gas Regulation (CREG), issued on December 18, 2025;
• opinion of the Finance Inspector of April 22 and 28, 2026;
• agreement of the Minister of Budget of June 17, 2026;
• opinion 79.767/1/V of the Council of State of July 22, 2026;
• regulatory impact analysis carried out in accordance with Articles 6 and 7 of the law of December 15, 2013, containing various provisions on administrative simplification.

Stake for the connection of North Sea wind farms

By linking the validity of the concession to the effective commissioning of each part of the MOG, the decree transfers the scheduling risk of the connection of offshore wind farms to the network operator. The Modular Offshore Grid becomes the centerpiece of network access for wind production in the North Sea: a delay in a single one of its components now jeopardizes the compliance of the concession itself, and not only the calculation of potential compensation. Operators and wind farm developers will therefore follow the publication of the decrees issued under Article 6/5, § 2, of the law of April 29, 1999, which will set the deadline for each extension phase.

Source: Moniteur belge, October 29, 2026, 2nd edition, royal decree of October 8, 2026, C − 2026/007960, p. 58311.