Cookie policy

The controller of your personal data is Elia Group SA, having its registered office at Boulevard de l’Empereur 20, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, a public limited company under Belgian law, registered in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises under the number , for the website www.mccs.com and Elia Group, having its registered office at Boulevard de l’Empereur 20, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, a public limited company under Belgian law, registered in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises under the number 0476.388.378, for the website www.mccs.com.
 
Other data controllers may be involved if third-party cookies are used. For more information, see section 3.

If you have any questions or requests concerning our Policy or the way in which we process your personal data in general, please contact us as per section 8.

Cookies are small data files that are downloaded to your device (e.g. a tablet, smartphone, PC or laptop) when you visit our website. They may collect information about your use of the website or allow us to identify you and your device when you return to our website at a later date. Cookies also enable us to recognise your device. You can learn more about cookies at http://www.allaboutcookies.org and http://www.youronlinechoices.eu.

You do not have to accept (all) our cookies, just those which are strictly necessary. However, if certain cookies are disabled or deleted, some parts of our website may not function as intended. For example, you may not be able to use all the functions we offer or save your preferences, and some of our pages may not display properly. Section 4 provides more information about disabling and/or deleting cookies.

3.1. General information 

We use both session cookies and persistent cookies on our website. 

We also use first-party and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are Elia's cookies, while third party cookies are set by websites that belong to a domain differing to that displayed in the address bar when you visit an Elia website.

We also make use of third-party requests, which are requests made to external servers to display content from other applications or websites (e.g. Twitter widgets). Even though these applications do not install any cookies, they may still collect information about visitors via settings.

We use the following types of cookie on our website:

A. Strictly necessary cookies are essential for allowing visitors to browse our website and use its functions. As they are a technical necessity, these cookies are installed once you access the website and cannot be rejected.
B. Analytical/performance cookies collect information about how you use our website (e.g. the web pages/functions you visit/use most often). They help us improve the operation of the website and can be rejected.
C. Functionality cookies allow the website to provide enhanced functions and customisation. They can be set by us and/or third-party suppliers whose services we have added to our pages. 
D. Targeting/advertising cookies are used to deliver content that is more relevant to your profile and interests based on an analysis of your browsing. These cookies can be rejected.

3.2. Cookies used on this website

This section categorises and describes the various cookies used on this website based on their purpose, type and supplier, where applicable.

A. Strictly necessary cookies

• SXA_SITE ([ASP.NET TS, ASP.NET_SessionId, website#lang])
  Purpose: to collect information about how visitors use this website, which we use to enhance the operation of our websites and remember user preferences (e.g. language preferences).
  Cookie owner: www.elia.be, www.eliagroup.eu
  Further information: supplied by Sitecore
  Legal basis for processing: legitimate interest ( Article 6(1)(f)) General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’)
  Duration: session
• Elia site#lang
  Purpose: to remember users' language preferences.
  Cookie owner: www.elia.be, www.eliagroup.eu
  Further information: supplied by Sitecore
  Legal basis for processing: legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR)
  Duration: session
• TS01690ff8, TS0101abd0
  Purpose: the BIG-IP ASM system uses ASM cookie names to enforce security policies. The BIG-IP ASM system validates the cookies returned by customers to ensure that they are not modified.
  Cookie owner: www.elia.be, www.eliagroup.eu
  Further information: supplied by BIG-IP ASM (https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K6850)
  Legal basis for processing: legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR)
  Duration: session

B. Analytical/performance cookies

• YouTube ([_gps, _pref, _ysc, _visitor_info1_live])
  Purpose: see the table below
  Further information: the website uses YouTube to display and store video content. YouTube sets these cookies to track the use of its services. YouTube cookies are only installed once you press Play.
  Cookie owner: YouTube (Google)
  Legal basis for processing: consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR)
  
  

  Name	Purpose	Duration
  _gps	Records a unique ID used by Google to produce statistics about the videos watched by the user on different websites	24 hours
  _pref	Records a unique ID used by Google to produce statistics about the videos watched by the user on different websites	8 months
  _ysc	Records a unique ID to produce viewing statistics regarding YouTube videos	Session
  _visitor_info1_live	Estimates user bandwidth based on the web page in which the video is embedded	179 days

  
  More information: https://policies.google.com/privacy
  
• Google Analytics ([_ga, _gat, _utma, _utmt, _utmb, _utmc, _utmz and _utmv]) and Google Tag Manager ([_dc_gtm_])
  Purpose: to collect information about how visitors use this website. We use the information to compile reports and help us improve this website. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the website, the page that directed visitors to this website and the pages they visited.
  Cookie owner: Google
  Further information: the information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Consult the Google Privacy Policy to learn more about Google cookies. You can prevent Google from collecting and using your data (cookies and IP address) by downloading and installing the browser add-on available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.
  Legal basis for processing: consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR).
  Duration: 2 years
  
  The following cookies are used to this end.

Name	Purpose	Duration
_ga	Used to distinguish between users	24 months
_gid	Used to distinguish between users	24 hours
_gat	This cookie is used to throttle the rate of requests sent to Google Analytics to increase the efficiency of network calls. If Google Analytics is deployed via Google Tag Manager, this cookie is called _dc_gtm_ <property-id>.	1 minute
_utma	Used to distinguish between users and sessions. This cookie is created when the JavaScript library is running and when there is no existing _utma cookie. This cookie is updated every time data are sent to Google Analytics.	2 years
_utmt	Used to throttle the request rate	10 minutes
_utmb	Used to determine new sessions/visits. This cookie is created when the JavaScript library is running and when there is no existing _utmb cookie. This cookie is updated every time data are sent to Google Analytics.	30 minutes
_utmc	This cookie was typically used together with the _utmb cookie to determine whether a user was in a new session/visit.	Session
_utmz	Stores the traffic source or campaign that explains how a user reached your site. This cookie is created when the JavaScript library is running and is updated every time data are sent to Google Analytics	6 months
_utmv	Used to store visitor-level custom variable data. This cookie is created when a developer uses the _setCustomVar method with a visitor-level custom variable. This cookie was also used for the deprecated _setVar method. This cookie is updated every time data are sent to Google Analytics.	2 years

More information: 

https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/cookie-usage#analyticsjs
https://policies.google.com/privacy

• Matomo Analytics ([_pk_id, _pk_ses, _pk_ref, _pk_cvar, _pk_hsr]) and Matomo Tag Manager ([_mtm]) 
  Purpose: to collect information about how visitors use this website. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the website. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the website, which page directed the visitors to this website, and the pages they visited. 
  Cookie owner: Matomo 
  Further information: the information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored on servers located in Germany, within the European Union, ensuring compliance with GDPR. For more details on Matomo cookies and privacy, please consult the Matomo Privacy Policy. You can opt-out of Matomo’s data collection by following the instructions provided at: Matomo Opt-out. 
  Legal basis for processing: consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR). 
  Duration: 13 months

  The following cookies are used to this end.

  Name	Purpose	Duration
  _pk_id	Used to store a few details about the user such as the unique visitor ID	13 months1
  _pk_ref	Used to store the attribution information, the referrer initially used to visit the website	6 months1
  _pk_ses, _pk_cvar, _pk_hsr	Short lived cookies used to temporarily store data for the visit	30 minutes1
  mtm_consent (or mtm_consent_removed)	Created to remember that consent was given (or removed) by the user	30 years1
  mtm_cookie_consent	Created to remember that consent for storing and using cookies was given by the user	30 years1
  matomo_ignore	Used when you exclude yourself from being tracked (opt-out)	30 years1
  matomo_sessid	Used for the opt-out feature (nonce to help prevent CSRF security issues)	14 days1

  
  More information: 

  For more detailed information about Matomo cookies and their usage, you can refer to the Matomo FAQ¹.

C. Functionality cookies

• Cookie level ([1|2|3|4])
  Purpose: to remember a visitor's acceptance of the range of EU legislation on cookies
  Cookie owner: www.elia.be, www.eliagroup.eu
  Further information: supplied by Sitecore
  Legal basis for processing: consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR)
  Duration: session
• Emergency Ribbons ([closed-emergency-ribbons])
  Purpose: to remember that a visitor has closed the notification banner in the website header 
  Cookie owner: www.elia.be, www.eliagroup.eu 
  Further information: supplied by Sitecore
  Legal basis for processing: consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR)
  Duration: session
  
• Jotforms (Guest; language; userReferer; PHPSESSID)
  Purpose: see the table below
  Cookie owner: jotfor.ms, jotform.com, www.jotform.com
  Legal basis for processing: consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR)
  Further information: Jotform cookies are described below

Name	Purpose	Duration
Guest	This cookie registers data on visitors' website-behaviour. This is used for internal analysis and website optimization.	30 days
language	This cookie stores the language code for the visitor in order to handle translations.	30 days
userReferer	This cookie determines how the user accessed the website. This information is used by the website operator in order to measure the efficiency of their marketing.	30 days
PHPSESSID	This cookie is set to preserves user session state across page requests.	Session

More information:
https://www.jotform.com/privacy/
https://www.jotform.com/cookie-policy/cookie-list/

• Hotjar (_hjid; ajs_anonymous_id; _hjLocalStorageTest; _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress)
  Purpose: see the table below
  Cookie owner: Hotjar
  Legal basis for processing: consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR)
  Further information: Hotjar cookies are described below

Name	Purpose	Duration
_hjid	Hotjar cookie that is set when the customer first lands on a page with the Hotjar script. It is used to retain the Hotjar user ID, which is unique to that site on the browser. This ensures that behaviour during subsequent visits to the same site are attributed to the same user ID.	365 days
ajs_anonymous_id	These cookies are generally used for analytics and help count the number of people who visit a certain site by tracking whether they have visited it before. This cookie has a duration of one year.	365 days
_hjLocalStorageTest	This cookie is used to check if the Hotjar Tracking Script can use local storage. If it can, a value of 1 is set in this cookie. The data stored in _hjLocalStorageTest do not have an expiry date but are deleted immediately after being created, so the expected storage time is less than 100 ms.	Session
_hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress	This cookie is set so that Hotjar can track the start of a user's journey for a total number of sessions. It does not contain any identifiable information.	30 minutes

More information: https://help.hotjar.com/hc/en-us/articles/115011789248-Hotjar-Cookies

There are several ways to configure and manage cookies. You can either disable Elia Group cookies or third-party cookies in your browser or use our cookie settings tool to manage your cookie preferences.

4.1. Cookie settings can vary from browser to browser

The hyperlinks below provide further guidance on disabling/deleting cookies in different browsers.

• Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en;

• Internet Explorer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Block-or-allow-cookies and http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/delete-manage-cookies#ie=ie-11-win-7

• Microsoft Edge: https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10-microsoft-edge-and-privacy;

• Mozilla Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-cookies-website-preferences?redirectlocale=en-US&redirectslug=Enabling+and+disabling+cookies and https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/delete-cookies-remove-info-websites-stored;

• Safari: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5042
  

You can also disable and therefore withdraw your consent for cookies installed by Elia Group by using our cookie management tool ('Manage my preferences'), which is available on our website and in our information banner.

You have certain rights regarding the data we hold about you. 

These rights comprise the right to be informed, the right of access, the right to rectification, the right to object, the right to data portability, the right to erasure (the 'right to be forgotten'), the right to restriction of processing and the right to withdraw your consent (this last right is detailed further in section 4). 

With regard to the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling and, where applicable, meaningful information about the logic involved, as well as the significance and the envisaged consequences of such processing for you, Elia Group confirms that there is no automated decision-making based on the personal data collected. 

All these rights are also detailed in section 6 of our Privacy Policy. We will try to respond to any requests as soon as feasibly possible and always within the timeframes set out in the GDPR.

If you have any questions about your rights or any complaints about the way Elia Group processes your personal data, please send them to us as per section 8 of this Policy before using our website. You are always entitled to submit a complaint to the competent supervisory authority. In Belgium, this is: the Data Protection Authority, Rue de la Presse 35, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, +32 (0)2 274 48 00, contact@apd-gba.be.

The retention period of the data collected by various cookies may vary depending on whether the cookie is installed by Elia Group or by third parties. We are not responsible for the retention period of third-party cookies.

Any personal data collected by Elia Group will not be retained for longer than is strictly necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy and in any case for no longer than twenty-five (25) months. Beyond that, said data will be deleted at the end of the retention period, unless a longer period is permitted or required pursuant to a legal or regulatory obligation, or if the data are subject to a process of anonymisation in order to make it impossible to 're-identify' individuals. As data that have undergone this process are no longer personal, they can be kept for an unspecified period of time and can be exploited, specifically to produce statistical reports.

By accepting all cookies or managing your preferences, you acknowledge that you have read the terms of this Policy and consent to our use of cookies as set out above. 

We may amend this Policy from time to time. Any such changes will be displayed on this page and, where appropriate, posted on the cookie banner. Please check back frequently to see if the Policy has been changed or updated. Your continued use of this website following the publication of modifications to this Policy implies your acceptance of these changes. 

This Policy was last updated on 20 November 2023.

Please send any questions, comments or requests concerning this Policy to privacy@elia.be.