Flanders demands reimbursement to energy consumers

The federal government added a charge to household energy bills for gas and electricity, in part to pay for the national energy regulator Creg. According to Flemish energy minister Bart Tommelein, consumers in the region have been paying too much since 2008, adding up to €75 million in total.

The government has approved Tommelein’s proposal to demand that the overpayment be returned to the government and then be reimbursed to families. The proposal will be put to the next meeting of the committee that brings together the federal government and the governments of the regions. 

The issue of overpayments also concerns Brussels and Wallonia, although in their case partial restitution has already been made by the network management companies.

“The aim is to ensure that this sort of calculating error cannot happen again in the future,” a spokesperson for Tommelein said. “There has to be a legal decision to have the sum that was overpaid returned to the families and businesses that paid too much.” 

Tommelein is insisting on a decision by the federal government, which was missing in the case of the other two regions. The next meeting of the committee takes place in September, when it will also consider the reorganisation of the gas network and the division of the associated cost of €500 million.

Photo: Ingimage