Flemish Energy Minister Melissa Depraetere (Vooruit) has finalised a tax shift that would make electricity cheaper and gas more expensive, cutting a typical household’s annual electricity bill by €80 while adding €80 to its gas bill.
According to draft texts seen by De Tijd, the reform is intended to make electric heating more attractive and fossil-fuel heating more costly. The plans were discussed for the first time by the Flemish cabinet last Friday.
Depraetere, of the socialist party Vooruit, wants to address what she sees as an imbalance in the current system, where households using a heat pump are penalised by levies that make electricity bills disproportionately heavy.
For an average household, the operation is designed to be budget-neutral overall. The Flemish Government had already approved the general principles a year ago, but had not yet published precise estimates of the financial impact.
Under the current proposal, a household with standard annual electricity use of 3.5 megawatt hours would save €80 a year. A household heating with gas and consuming 17 megawatt hours would pay €80 more.
For households using heating oil, an annual consumption of just over 23 megawatt hours would lead to an extra yearly cost of €74.40.
The impact will vary significantly depending on energy use. Households and businesses with above-average electricity consumption would benefit more, while those with high gas or heating oil use would face steeper increases.
The Flemish tax shift is due to take effect in 2028 and would move several charges away from electricity and on to fossil-fuel consumption.
