Belgium's energy watchdog has called for stricter controls on energy prices, recommending that the federal energy regulator (CREG) monitors and approves any price increases or new contract prices offered by suppliers.
The Energy Mediation Service (Belgium's energy ombudsman) has said it received "several times the normal number of complaints" over the last two years (26,920 in 2022 and 24,615 in 2023, compared to 9,088 in 2021 and 6,639 in 2020).
Global energy prices soared in 2021 and 2022 following the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While more recently prices have been falling from their peak, they are still at historically high levels.
Among a list of 20 recommendations made this week by the Energy Mediation Service to federal policy makers is a call for a "safety net mechanism" for variable energy prices to be reintroduced.
Between 2012 and 2017, the Belgian Federal Government introduced a safety net mechanism to ensure that energy prices for individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Belgium did not exceed average prices in neighbouring countries.
The Energy Mediation Service has said that this mechanism should be reintroduced for variable energy prices, as well as additional safety net regulation for new fixed-rate energy contracts and associated risk premiums.
The ombudsman said that if CREG were monitoring and approving costs and tariffs through this mechanism, it would boost confidence in the energy market for both end customers and energy suppliers.
The energy watchdog also suggested that social tariffs offered as a support during the energy crisis should be permanently extended to beneficiaries who qualify for the social heating fund.
Other recommendations
With the energy crisis "seemingly behind us" and negotiations on the makeup of the next Federal Government underway, the Energy Mediation Service said that its recommendations are "essential improvements" which would " strengthen consumer and business confidence in the sector".
The ombudsman also recommended that it should be able to receive formal complaints via telephone. It highlighted that it received 6,000 requests for information and complaints by telephone in 2023, and would often have to ask consumers to submit complaints in writing.
Other recommendations included a widening of the ombudsman's remit to settle disputes, strengthening protections for SMEs, extending the applicability of the sector's consumer protection agreement to all energy companies, stricter regulation of recovery of energy debts, and the creation of an inter-federal energy platform for customer queries.
