Flemish Energy Minister Melissa Depraetere has announced plans to cut subsidies for large companies during periods of energy oversupply to reduce electricity bills for households.
Currently, these companies continue to receive subsidies even when the electricity price drops below zero due to excess supply. Depraetere, from the Vooruit party, argues that this system is “completely unfair.”
She cited the contrasting situation of households with small solar panels, who must pay to feed their surplus electricity into the grid during such periods. “It’s pure over-subsidisation at the expense of consumers,” she said. “Scrapping subsidies during peak moments will address this issue, reduce energy bills for Flemings, and protect those with solar panels from negative prices.”
The proposed reform shortens the current rule, which halts subsidies only after six consecutive hours of negative electricity prices. Depraetere plans to reduce this threshold to a single hour.
Similar measures have already been implemented in the Netherlands and Germany, where subsidies are withheld for every hour that electricity prices are negative.
Calculations suggest these changes could save €290 million in Flemish electricity bills by the end of this legislative term. By 2035, the total savings could rise to €356 million.
