Brussels residents who wish to conclude a new electricity or natural gas supply contract can now only contact two suppliers. The others left Brussels, because the market was too difficult. On Wednesday, Bolt announced that it was – temporarily – no longer taking on new clients in Brussels. The customer freeze also applies to Wallonia. Existing customers will still be supplied, however.
The list of Brussels suppliers is therefore thinner. According to the regulator Brugel’s website, only Engie Electrabel, TotalEnergies and Luminus are left. The latter operated in Brussels through MediaMarkt. But at Luminus, it seems that this is no longer the case, and that no new clients are accepted.
Result: Brussels residents looking for a new supplier can only contact Engie Electrabel and TotalEnergies. There is also the Brusol EnergyVision, but it only supplies electricity to those who have solar panels. Other suppliers – for example Eneco – still supply electricity and gas in Brussels, but only for existing contracts.
Less competition
Brugel, the energy market regulator in Brussels, speaks of a “problematic” situation. “Fewer suppliers means less competition in Brussels”said spokeswoman Adeline Moerenhout. “We have already advised to make the market more attractive”.
According to Febeg, the federation of Belgian electricity and gas companies, Brussels is a difficult market for energy suppliers. For example, companies must offer three-year contracts there. Suppliers also pay for those who do not pay their bills. Anyone who wants to stop the contract of a bad payer must contact the justice of the peace. ”It easily takes a year and a half’‘, said managing director Marc Van den Bosch.
Energy supplier Engie already plans to remain active in Brussels. “Engie wants to remain active in the three regions”spokeswoman Hellen Smeets said. “But Brussels is indeed a difficult market”.
In terms of price, however, Brussels does no worse than Flanders or Wallonia. Figures from federal regulator Creg show the average commercial electricity price in Brussels in September was €2,041 on an annual basis for an average family. It is even cheaper than Flanders (2,072 euros) and Wallonia (2,245 euros). The Brussels bill includes fewer distribution costs and obligations thanks to green certificates. For natural gas, the annual bill for an average family in Brussels (2,970 euros) is more expensive than in Flanders (2,889 euros), but less expensive than in Wallonia (3,093 euros).