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How to create an energy community in Wallonia: a step-by-step guide

· by OptimCE Team

Wallonia is currently the Belgian region where energy communities are deploying fastest. The legal framework has been stable since 2022, the regulator (CWaPE) publishes a standard notification form, and the distribution system operators (DSOs) are tooled up: every ingredient is in place for a group of citizens, a municipality, a school or an industrial park to launch its own energy sharing. This guide walks through the complete procedure: from choosing the type of community to going live with your DSO. If you’re not yet familiar with the concept itself, start with our article «Energy communities in Belgium: CER, CEC and CEL explained» — it sets the vocabulary used here.

The guide targets two typical profiles: a collective starting from scratch (citizens, neighbourhood non-profit, municipality) and a producer already equipped (rooftop PV, cogeneration) who wants to valorise surplus to nearby neighbours or businesses. The procedure is the same; what differs is the upstream framing work.

Overview: the six steps at a glance

# Step Goal Main actor Indicative duration
1 Choose the type of community Decide between CER and CEC Project lead 1–2 weeks
2 Frame the project Members, legal structure, representative Project lead 1–3 months
3 Notify the CWaPE File the standard form CWaPE 1 day (filing)
4 Receive acknowledgement of receipt Administrative green light CWaPE 10 business days
5 Launch the sharing with the DSO Agreement, keys, meters ORES / RESA / AIEG 1–2 months
6 Operate and report Annual reporting, governance Community Ongoing

Expect 3 to 6 months between the initial idea and the first shared kilowatt-hour, mainly because of the legal framing (step 2) and the technical coordination with the DSO (step 5).

Step 1 — Choose the type of community: CER or CEC

In Wallonia, two models coexist and are governed by the CWaPE, the Walloon energy regulator: the Renewable Energy Community (CER) and the Citizen Energy Community (CEC). The choice drives everything that follows: eligible energy sources, geographic scope, types of activities.

Criterion CER CEC
Energy source Renewables only (PV, wind, biomass, quality cogeneration) Any source, including non-renewable
Energy shared Electricity + heat Electricity only
Geographic scope Limited (proximity criterion) None: members can be far apart
Members Individuals, SMEs, local authorities Individuals, SMEs, local authorities
Typical use Neighbourhood, industrial park, school + neighbours Multi-site corporate, cogeneration from fossil sources

How to decide? Ask yourself three questions:

  1. Where does the shared energy come from? Rooftop PV, micro-wind, biomass cogeneration → CER. Gas cogeneration, mix including non-renewables → CEC.
  2. Where are the members? All in the same neighbourhood or a few streets apart → CER. Sites scattered across the province or across Wallonia → CEC.
  3. Do you also want to share heat (heat network, district heating from a shared boiler)? → CER, mandatory.

In practice, CERs account for the vast majority of Walloon projects: most start from a PV installation or a biomass cogeneration in the heart of a neighbourhood. CECs remain relevant for multi-site or non-renewable configurations.

To dig deeper, the CWaPE reference page covers the Walloon framework, community types and legal foundations stemming from the Walloon decree of 5 May 2022 and the Walloon Government order of 17 March 2023.

Step 2 — Frame the project and appoint a representative

This is the longest step, but it’s also the one that determines the community’s solidity. Before any filing with the CWaPE, you must structure the project by answering the four key questions promoted by MaCER / Cluster TWEED:

  1. Who produces? Identify the producer(s) (existing rooftop PV, new project, cogeneration…) and their delivery point (EAN).
  2. Who consumes? List the future consuming members, their estimated annual consumption and their EANs.
  3. Where? Map the locations to verify the proximity criterion (CER) or confirm it is not required (CEC).
  4. How is the energy allocated? Sketch the allocation key (static: fixed percentages; dynamic: proportional to real-time consumption).

An energy community is mandatorily a legal entity. In Wallonia, two forms dominate:

  • The non-profit association (ASBL) — fits citizen projects, schools, municipalities; flexible governance, no minimum capital.
  • The cooperative (SCRL/SC) — fits when investment (panels, connection) is borne by members; allows shares to be remunerated.

More rarely, a foundation or an inter-municipal entity can host the community. The choice depends on who invests, who decides and how benefits flow back to members. The guide «How to set up an energy community in Wallonia» by Énergie+ details the trade-offs.

Appoint the representative

The community must name a single representative — often called manager or administrator — who will be the point of contact for the CWaPE and the DSO. Their role: file the notification, sign the agreements, transmit member updates and the annual report. In small communities, this role is held voluntarily by a member; in larger projects, it is entrusted to a professional community manager (precisely the role OptimCE is built for).

By the end of this step, you have: statutes, a list of members with their EANs, a designated representative, and a draft allocation key. You are ready to notify.

Step 3 — File the notification with the CWaPE

In Wallonia, prior notification to the CWaPE is mandatory: no energy sharing can start until the community has been duly notified. The procedure is described on the «What is the procedure to create an energy community?» page of the regulator.

The standard form

The CWaPE provides a standard form that structures the notification. It covers:

  • The legal identity of the community: form, name, registered office, BCE number, statutes.
  • The representative appointed and their contact details.
  • The list of initial members (individuals, SMEs, local authorities) with their EANs.
  • The sharing configuration envisaged: community type (CER/CEC), scope, shared energy source, allocation key.
  • The DSO concerned (ORES, RESA or AIEG) and the associated delivery points.

Where and how to file

The notification is filed directly with the CWaPE, through the channels indicated on the procedure page. Always keep a timestamped copy of the filing: it triggers the deadline for the acknowledgement of receipt.

Tip: fill in the form with your representative AND, ideally, in pre-project discussion with the DSO (step 5). Identifying technical constraints on the grid side at this stage avoids having to re-notify later in case of material modification.

Step 4 — Receive the acknowledgement of receipt

The CWaPE has 10 business days to issue an acknowledgement of receipt after your notification is filed (source: CWaPE — procedure). This deadline is short, but it is strict: you cannot start energy sharing before receiving this acknowledgement.

Three scenarios may unfold:

  • Complete and compliant notification — you receive the acknowledgement within the deadline and move to step 5.
  • Incomplete notification — the CWaPE asks for additional information. The deadline restarts from the filing of the missing items. This is the most common scenario for first-time communities; anticipate it by having someone external proofread the form.
  • Problematic notification — the proposed configuration does not meet a regulatory criterion (e.g., excessive CER perimeter). The CWaPE indicates what must be adjusted before the acknowledgement can be confirmed.

Use this window to move forward in parallel on step 5 (engaging with the DSO): the technical timeline is often the limiting factor.

Step 5 — Launch the sharing with the distribution system operator

Once the acknowledgement is in hand, sharing becomes a technical operation driven by the DSO. The pages ORES — «Start an energy community (CER/CEC)» and AIEG — «Energy sharing» describe the mechanics on the operator side.

Identify the right DSO

In Wallonia, three DSOs cover the territory:

  • ORES — the vast majority of Walloon municipalities.
  • RESA — the Liège region.
  • AIEG — the municipalities of Andenne, Éghezée and Gesves.

The relevant DSO is the one operating the grid to which your meters are connected. If the community brings together members located on different territories, several DSOs may be involved — rare but possible.

Transmit the sharing configuration

You transmit to the DSO:

  • The full list of EANs (production and consumption) participating in the sharing;
  • The allocation key chosen (static or dynamic);
  • The sharing agreement signed between members (see below);
  • The CWaPE acknowledgement of receipt.

Sign the sharing agreement

The sharing agreement is the internal contract binding the members. It specifies each party’s rights and obligations: internal price of the shared energy, joining and leaving terms, governance, dispute resolution. It is mandatory and kept by the community; the DSO checks its existence but does not arbitrate its content.

Verify the smart meters

Sharing relies on smart meters that transmit readings every 15 minutes. The vast majority of recent meters in Wallonia are already smart; if a member has an old meter, its replacement (free of charge) is scheduled by the DSO before go-live.

Effective go-live

Once the configuration is technically validated, the DSO activates the sharing on a date agreed by both parties. From that point, it:

  1. Reads the meters every 15 minutes.
  2. Applies the allocation key to assign shared energy to each member.
  3. Transmits the shared volumes to the members’ energy suppliers for billing adjustment.

Electrons keep flowing on the grid as before: sharing is administrative and tariff-based, not physical. For examples of configurations already live, see our list of open sharing operations.

Step 6 — Operate, govern and report

Once the community is up and running, obligations don’t disappear. The CWaPE requires annual reporting detailing the community’s activity: members, energy produced, energy shared, evolution of the allocation key (see the CWaPE reference page).

To which are added the ongoing obligations:

  • Notification updates whenever a member joins or leaves, or the configuration changes materially;
  • Internal governance: assemblies, allocation-key decisions, onboarding new producers;
  • Continuous coordination with the DSO for technical questions (meter replacement, EAN addition, discrepancy handling).

It’s in this operational phase that a management tool becomes essential: tracking dozens of EANs, recomputing keys as members come and go, producing the CWaPE report — all this by hand quickly becomes unmanageable. Precisely what OptimCE automates.

How long? How much does it cost?

Realistic timeline: 3 to 6 months for a simple community (one producer, a few dozen members in the same neighbourhood), 6 to 12 months for a multi-stakeholder project with collective investment. Steps 2 (legal framing) and 5 (technical coordination with the DSO) are the main drivers of duration.

Cost items to anticipate:

  • Legal incorporation: ASBL or cooperative statutes, notarial fees for cooperatives (a few hundred to a few thousand euros).
  • Advisory support: lawyer, energy consultant, engineering firm if the configuration is complex.
  • Accounting: as a legal entity, the community keeps accounts (often simplified for ASBLs).
  • Management tool: dedicated platform for allocation keys, reporting and internal billing.
  • Grid operating fees: charged by the DSO according to the regulated tariffs in force (consultable from the CWaPE).

No specific administrative fee is owed to the CWaPE for the notification itself.

FAQ — Creating an energy community in Wallonia

Who can create an energy community in Wallonia?

Any individual, SME or local authority can initiate a community. The essential condition is that energy is not the main activity of the members (except for local authorities).

How many members are required at minimum?

The Walloon decree does not impose a numeric threshold, but a community requires at least two distinct participants (e.g., a producer and a consumer). In practice, viable communities count a few dozen members to amortise fixed management costs.

Can the CWaPE refuse a notification?

The CWaPE does not “approve” a community: it acknowledges receipt of a compliant notification. It can ask for additional information or flag non-compliances (scope, member types, energy source for a CER), in which case the 10-business-day deadline only runs once the compliant version is received.

What’s the difference with collective self-consumption within a single building?

In-building collective self-consumption is a sharing operation limited to occupants of one building (e.g., an apartment block). It’s simpler administratively but more restricted in scope. A CER or CEC goes beyond this limit and can cover several buildings or an entire neighbourhood.

Is my DSO ORES, RESA or AIEG?

It depends on your municipality: ORES covers most of Wallonia, RESA operates in Liège and its region, AIEG in Andenne, Éghezée and Gesves. Each future member’s electricity bill mentions the DSO; you can also check on the DSO’s website using the EAN.

Do I need to change electricity supplier?

No. Members keep their current supplier; the supplier continues to bill the residual energy (what internal sharing didn’t cover). The DSO automatically transmits the shared volumes to the suppliers.

Can energy be shared between members in different municipalities?

Yes for a CEC (no geographic limit). For a CER, the Walloon decree’s proximity criterion must be respected — generally, members stay within a coherent perimeter (neighbourhood, municipality, contiguous territory).

Can a school, a municipality or an industrial park join?

Yes. Local authorities (municipalities, communal schools, inter-municipal entities) and SMEs are explicitly allowed to join a CER or a CEC. For public buildings, the municipality can be both producer (school rooftop PV) and consumer through its other buildings.

Would you rather join an existing community?

If creating a community from scratch feels too heavy, joining an existing operation is much faster — typically 6 to 12 weeks between first contact and first shared kilowatt-hour. See our practical guide:

How to join an energy community in Wallonia: a practical guide

Who can join, where to find an open operation (OptimCE registry, SPW facilitator, Énergie commune), step-by-step enrolment and points to check before you sign.

How OptimCE can help

Once the community is notified and operational, the work begins: onboarding members, configuring allocation keys, tracking shared volumes at 15-minute granularity, producing the annual CWaPE report. OptimCE is an open source platform designed precisely for this: it automates the day-to-day management of energy communities and interfaces with the Walloon DSOs.

To get started or to compare features, see the OptimCE user guide and the public list of open sharing operations already managed via the platform.

Sources