Energy costs for households in Belgium are rising sharply, with the projected annual bill for a new electricity and gas contract approaching €3,300.
The increase is being driven particularly by natural gas prices, which have surged amid renewed tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty surrounding energy supplies.
According to the latest forecasts from the Flemish Energy and Utilities Regulator (VNR), a household signing a new energy contract in September can expect to pay around €1,900 a year for gas and €1,380 for electricity. Combined, that amounts to almost €3,300 – more than €820 higher than at the start of 2026.
Gas bill up 53%
Gas accounts for the largest part of the increase. A household consuming around 17,000 kWh of gas per year would face an estimated annual bill of almost €1,900 when signing a new contract this month. That is more than €650 higher than at the beginning of the year, representing an increase of around 53%.
Electricity prices have also risen, although less dramatically. A household with standard consumption of approximately 3,500 kWh per year, using day and night rates, could face an annual bill of around €1,380, almost €170 more than at the beginning of 2026, or an increase of around 14%.
The figures apply to households signing new fixed or variable contracts. They do not mean that every household will immediately see the same increase, as existing contracts can protect consumers from current market prices until they expire.
Variable contracts could also become more or less expensive than the current forecasts depending on how wholesale energy prices develop in the coming months.
Middle East conflict puts pressure on energy markets
The latest price increases are closely linked to the renewed conflict in the Middle East. Hopes of a rapid reopening of the Strait of Hormuz – the strategically important waterway is a key route for oil and liquefied natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf – have faded in recent weeks.
Oil prices have consequently risen sharply. The situation has also raised concerns about possible disruptions to oil shipments through the Red Sea, amid escalating violence involving Yemen's Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia.
European gas prices are also continuing to rise. The benchmark Dutch TTF wholesale gas price crossed €80 per megawatt hour last Thursday. It marked the sixth consecutive trading session in which gas prices increased and put them at their highest level since January 2023.
The development is particularly concerning because European gas storage levels remain relatively low. Gas reserves across Europe are currently around 67% full, compared with 80% at the same point last year and 93% the year before.
With supplies from the Middle East disrupted and Asian buyers competing for LNG cargoes, European countries could face greater difficulties replenishing their reserves ahead of winter. A cold winter or further supply disruptions could therefore put additional upward pressure on prices.
Energy crisis also hits motorists
The higher wholesale energy prices are already being felt beyond household heating and electricity bills. Belgium's Economy Ministry announced that the maximum price for diesel will rise to €2.407 per litre on Friday, an increase of 5.1 euro cents. That brings diesel prices close to the record of €2.489 per litre, reached in April.
Petrol prices are also climbing, with the maximum price reaching €2.058 per litre, their highest level in four years. The latest developments are reviving memories of the energy crisis that followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
At the height of that crisis, the projected annual gas bill for an average household reached around €6,000, while the projected electricity bill rose to approximately €3,300.
