The first rays of spring sunshine are giving energy companies headaches. This was the case in Belgium on Sunday--a day of low industrial activity--when electricity production far exceeded consumption. On the wholesale market, the price of electricity was negative from 10am to 5pm, particularly between 1pm and 2pm at -€266 per megawatt-hour.

The grid operator, Elia, which had already slowed production at the Doel 4 nuclear power station, had therefore “invited” its customers who have dynamic contracts (which move in line with the price), to consume electricity. For example, to run their washing machines and dishwashers, or to charge their electric cars. And conversely, it warned those with solar panels that they would be charged for feeding electricity into the grid.

Is the world upside down? Yes, at least in terms of perception. But it does encourage consumers to be more attentive to their own behaviour on the one hand, and to plan their investments carefully when it comes to installing solar panels. In two respects in particular: either by adding an electricity storage battery to avoid having to inject electricity during these periods, or by thinking about asking for a special inverter to slow down production. In either case, this will add a cost to the total bill.

This article was originally published in .