Belgium’s net electricity imports cost a staggering €1.04 billion last year despite relatively low wholesale electricity prices, according to a report by the Commission for the Regulation of Electricity and Gas (CREG), .
Between 2015 and 2018, Belgium relied heavily on imported electricity due to reduced availability of its nuclear power plants. However, from 2019 to 2022, more nuclear energy was available locally and new interconnections to the UK and Germany allowed Belgium to become a net exporter.
In 2023, the situation was reversed, and Belgium became once again a net importer of electricity, importing 10.7 terawatt-hours last year.
“The total cost of these net import flows amounted to a staggering €1.04 billion paid to neighbouring countries’ producers, compared to €1.33 billion in revenue from exports to neighbouring countries in 2022,” the CREG highlighted in its annual monitoring report, released on Wednesday.
Still, despite the high net import flows in 2024, electricity prices were relatively low in Belgium compared to the Netherlands and Germany.
The CREG attributes this seemingly counterintuitive result to substantial, inexpensive nuclear and renewable electricity production from France, and the easing effect of Belgian import flows on a transmission network burdened by French exports to other European countries.
