Belgium’s electricity production fell in September to its lowest level in nearly 20 years, forcing the country to rely heavily on imports, according to figures published by the Federal Ministry of Economy.
Output totalled 4,021 gigawatt hours last month – the lowest monthly production level since the Ministry began compiling these statistics in 2008.
The drop was mainly caused by maintenance outages at the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear reactors. Both units had been offline since early April and only restarted a few weeks ago.
More moderate wind and solar generation as autumn approached also contributed to the decline.
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As a result, electricity imports have reached what the Ministry has described as an unprecedented level since April. It said this was the highest figure recorded since the statistical series began in January 2008.
In the first half of 2026, Belgium imported 18.7 terawatt hours of electricity and exported 6.2 terawatt hours. That left a record net import balance of 12.5 terawatt hours.
Since April, foreign electricity supplies have amounted to about 2 terawatt hours a month.
Most of this electricity came from the Netherlands and France. In a rare development, Belgium also became a net importer from Germany and the United Kingdom.
