The deadline for paying energy bills in Belgium could be extended from 15 to 30 days, Federal Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten announced in the House Committee on Wednesday.
After the Federal Office of the Ombudsman for Energy received a record number of complaints from families not being able to pay their bill, it stated that the current period of 15 calendar days does not fit in with the periodic income that a consumer normally receives within a period of 30 calendar days.
"While suppliers have 30 days to reimburse the customer, the consumer only has 15 days to pay their bill. A correction is necessary and fair for the consumer," Van der Straeten said, adding that a recommendation to this effect has been made by the energy mediation service.
Translation: "Energy suppliers have 30 days to repay customers while a consumer has 15 days to pay the bill. Extending the deadline for paying the bill to 30 days is a necessary correction and a way to reduce the risk of debt."
"We see that there is a world of difference between people who are in debt and those who are not," she added. "We want to avoid that situation in the first place, and we can do that by extending the term of the bill."
"There is still no clear federal framework that applies to all energy suppliers," Van der Straeten said. "As part of the matter is a Regional competence, I am involving the Regions so we can contribute to reducing the risk of debt together."
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Last month, Energy Ombudsman Eric Houtman said that his office is currently unable to provide individual dispute resolution due to the continuing "explosion" of complaints and reports.
"Just like the increase in energy bills, the number of complaints is currently three times higher, or an average of 3,000 complaints per month or 150 complaints per working day," Houtman told Belga News Agency.
"We try to handle this flow of complaints with 15 employees. We therefore hope that the Belgian energy market, with 6 million customers for electricity and 3.4 million customers for natural gas, will return to normal as soon as possible, both in terms of prices, invoices and contracts and in terms of accessibility of energy companies."
