Belgium's current system of advance payments throughout the year followed by an end-of-year bill should be replaced by a standard monthly bill, Deputy Prime Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne has stated.
The minister cites a growing preference for such a system, which would see households receive regular monthly bills for their gas and electricity use – meaning they would only pay exactly for exactly what they have used that month. Since April 2022, the five largest energy suppliers in Flanders have been required to offer these monthly bills as an option; all other energy suppliers will have to follow from October.
As of January, nearly 30,000 Flemish families had opted for these monthly bills – eight times as many as in August 2022. As a result, Van Quickenborne wants to standardise monthly billing for everyone with a digital meter. For those who prefer the system of advance payments and a final bill, the option would still available but customers would have to explicitly request it.
Van Quickenborne pointed out that the Flemish Energy Regulator (VREG) had fined a supplier for not offering customers with a digital meter billing on a monthly basis.
Keeping track of the energy we use
Some households with advance payment regimes end up getting thousands of euros back at the end of the year, but this is simply because they had paid far too much on their advance payments. "Such situations should be avoided. Customers should not have to play banker for their energy company."
Energy experts and the VREG are in favour of the proposal. "A monthly invoice can make people much more aware of what they use each month," they said.
The disadvantage of paying exactly what you use is that the costs will no longer be spread evenly over the whole year, University of Ghent (UGent) energy expert Johan Albrecht explained: "People will have a higher bill in the winter months, especially if there are some exceptionally cold months."
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Van Quickenborne stressed that he is making this proposal in his own name because he has no say in the matter as the Federal Justice Minister. Yet whether he will be supported in government is uncertain. Flemish Energy Minister Zuhal Demir stated that she has yet to receive similar proposals from elsewhere.
