Anyone with an analogue meter should be able to regularly transmit meter readings via a tool to track energy consumption and costs, the Test Aankoop consumer association said in a press release on Monday.
Smaller suppliers do not yet offer that possibility, it explained.
According to Test Aankoop, the possibilities of the digital meter are currently not being fully used.
“Through this instrument, it should be perfectly possible for consumers to get a monthly overview of how many kWh were consumed at what price,” notes the consumer association. This would allow families to “determine more quickly whether their advance payment is in line with actual costs.”
The consumer association also reiterates its plea for fixed tariffs at an affordable price. “Consumers today, more than ever, want certainty and predictability,” it noted.
According to Test Aankoop, certain suppliers were quick to issue high advance bills when prices rose, but there is no reverse movement now that prices have been falling on European markets for several weeks. The association therefore supports the call of State Secretary for Consumer Protection Eva De Bleeker (Open VLD) for a reduction in the advance energy invoice if prices on the markets remain low.
“If market prices fall significantly, that means that prices are lowering for suppliers. It cannot be that consumers play banker for energy suppliers,” De Bleeker said Saturday in De Ochtend on Radio 1.
