The federal budget agreement: what is changing for the energy sector

In mid-October, the government met to discuss the federal budget for 2022. A number of decisions were taken in all sectors, including energy. We take a look at all these new budget agreement, from expanding the social tariff and simplifying energy bills to ending the automatic renewal of dormant contracts.

Social tariff expanded until the end of March 2022

In February 2021, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government decided to widen access to the social tariff to include pensioners, single-parent families experiencing financial difficulties, and anyone with a gross annual income of 20,000 euro or less.

Since mid-October, it’s official: the expansion of this measure is being extended until March 2022, which will allow beneficiaries to reduce their energy bills by at least 720 euro. This measure affects around 20% of Belgian households, in other words 2 million people.

Reminder: what is the social tariff? It is a specific tariff for recipients of social integration income, recipients of guaranteed income for elderly persons (GRAPA), and people with disabilities. The price per kWh is set by CREG, the Belgian federal energy regulator, and, in addition to being the cheapest on the market, it is the same for all suppliers in Belgium. This means that social tariff recipients are free to choose their preferred supplier.

Energy voucher granted for social tariff recipients

In addition to expanding the social tariff, the government has decided to grant energy vouchers worth 80 euro each to help the most disadvantaged households deal with energy price rises.

For several months now, electricity and gas prices have continued to rise, due, in part, to the post-lockdown economic recovery and to some unseasonably harsh weather conditions.

Simplified energy bills in 2022

In April 2021, the government formalised the simplification of Belgian energy bills from 1 January 2022. For 41% of the population, the data and information appearing on their gas and electricity bills is often too complex, meaning that some people have problems understanding it.

As a result, a Royal Decree has been introduced which states that: