Power line licences

To ensure that all households have access to electricity, it is necessary for the electricity produced in power stations to be transported and distributed via a network of electrical connections (aerial lines or underground cables). This must be achieved reliably and safely. In some cases, it may be necessary to compromise between the general right of the population to the supply of electricity and the interests of people living close to the areas through which the lines are routed. In Belgium, the public authorities are responsible for investigating licence applications to route high-voltage electricity lines through public or private areas.

Area of application

The granting of road system licences or public utility declarations for the occupancy, respectively, of the public or private area by high-voltage electricity lines is governed by the Law of 10 March 1925 on the distribution of electricity. Applications are investigated by the Federal Government if the voltage is equal to or greater than 150 kV, or by regional governments if it is less than this figure.

Application for a road system licence

The procedure is described in the Royal Decree of 26 November 1973 on road system licences. The annex to the Decree sets down the documents to be enclosed with the application and the number of copies and format of these documents.

The procedure consists of several stages:

• The road system licence application is sent as a complete file to the investigating DG Energy. The file also contains a project summary describing and justifying the application (requires the addition of a further line or the amendment of an existing line), the plans required in accordance with the Annex to the Royal Decree of 26 November 1973 (general layout of the line, routes, municipal boundaries, cross sections of public roads, etc.) and with the applicable articles of the General Regulation on Generation Facilities (RGIE, Règlement Général sur les Installations Electriques).
• The DG Energy examines the file, prepares a draft decision granting the road system licence and transmits these to the operators of the areas used (roads, railways, etc.) for consultation as well as to the main underground service networks (Fluxys, Aquaviva, etc.) and the regional and local authorities.
• If comments are made and/or amendments are required to the file, the file is reworked by the applicant to the satisfaction of all parties. New consultations, relating to the amendments made, for example, an amendment to the route or to bypass an obstacle (water course, railway line, etc.), may then be held.
• Fees may also be requested for the line’s occupancy of the public domain. These will be inserted in the Decree.
• At the end of the investigation, the DG Energy sends the road system licence application, together with the complete file, to the relevant authority to decide on the application, namely:
• the municipal council if the line does not exceed the boundaries of a municipality;  
• the permanent committee of the provincial council if the line extends across several municipalities, but does not exceed the boundaries of a province;  
• In both of these cases, the decision only becomes enforceable on Royal approval.
• in all other cases, the King at the proposal of the Energy Minister.
• Once a decision or Royal approval has been issued, the outcome is published in the Belgian Official Gazette and the DG Energy sends notification to all of the parties concerned in writing with a copy of any relevant documents.

Application for a public utility declaration

If use of the public domain is impossible, the electricity line must pass over private land.

This issue is covered by article 1 of the Royal Decree of 27 August 1925 in compliance with the Law of 10 March 1925 on the distribution of electricity - Public utility declarations.

The operator of the line submits a public utility declaration application to the DG Energy, which investigates the file and asks the municipal authorities to open a public inquiry.

This public inquiry lasts two weeks and is conducted by means of advertising and by notifying the principal owners and tenants concerned, as recommended, namely the persons on the parcels of land on which the pylons are to be installed, or on which the cables are buried. Complaints can be heard at a local meeting in the municipality in question in the presence of the applicant.

The parcels corresponding to private land mentioned above are set down in the Royal Decree on public utility declarations.

In summary, the public utility declaration allows the electricity line to pass over private land for reasons of public utility. The areas concerned by the routing of the electricity line through private parcels of land are thus treated as servitudes.