Electricity & gas in Belgium: your rights

The market

The electricity and gas market is fully open (Flanders since 2003, Brussels and Wallonia since 2007). Households choose their supplier and can change contract or supplier at any time, free of charge. Many consumer rules are regional.

Energy regulator

CREG – Commissie voor de Regulering van de Elektriciteit en het Gas

• Vlaamse Nutsregulator (VNR, voorheen VREG) — Flanders · vlaamsenutsregulator.be
• CWaPE – Commission wallonne pour l'Énergie — Wallonia · cwape.be
• BRUGEL — Brussels-Capital Region · brugel.brussels

Dispute resolution

Ombudsdienst voor Energie / Service de Médiation de l'Énergie · free

First try to solve the problem with your supplier or grid operator. If that fails, file a written complaint with the federal Energy Ombudsman within one year; debt collection is suspended while it is handled.

Compare prices official

CREG Scan (national); regional: V-test® (Flanders), CompaCWaPE (Wallonia), BRUSIM (Brussels)

Switching supplier

Sign with the new supplier; it arranges everything, including ending your old contract. The legal notice is one month (in practice about 3–4 weeks). No termination fee is allowed, but some suppliers still charge the fixed annual fee for a full year.

Price rises

In a fixed-term contract the supplier may not change conditions to your disadvantage. In an open-ended contract it must announce unfavourable changes, such as a new price, at least two months ahead. You can always leave with one month's notice, free.

Regulated price

There is no regulated retail price for ordinary households; suppliers set their own prices. The only price set by the regulator is the social tariff for protected customers.

Help if money is tight

A reduced electricity, gas and heat price, identical at every supplier and set by CREG every three months. It is for people receiving certain benefits (e.g. from the OCMW/CPAS or disability allowances) and social-housing tenants; the federal government decides who qualifies.

Protection against cut-off

Rules are regional. Flanders: supplier sends a reminder, then a formal notice, and must keep supplying 45 days after ending the contract; only an LAC decision allows a cut. Wallonia: prepayment meter or justice of the peace. Brussels: justice of the peace only, no cuts 1 Oct–31 Mar.

If your supplier goes bust

If your supplier goes bankrupt you are not cut off. In Flanders the grid operator Fluvius automatically becomes your temporary emergency supplier (at a higher price), so choose a new supplier quickly. In Brussels, Sibelga is the supplier of last resort.

Power cut

Call your grid operator, not your supplier. Flanders: €35 if an unplanned outage lasts more than 4 hours, plus €20 per extra 4 hours; apply to Fluvius within 30 days. Wallonia: a flat €100 (indexed) per 6 hours for an unplanned cut of more than 6 hours in a row. It is paid automatically: your grid operator contacts you within 30 days for your account number. Not in cases of force majeure. Brussels: for an unplanned cut of more than 6 hours you can claim compensation from Sibelga; send the form within 60 days.

Cooling-off period

Since 1 January 2024 you have a right of withdrawal for every type of gas or electricity supply contract. For contracts signed at the door, by phone or online you have 14 calendar days.

Smart meter

In Flanders the digital meter is compulsory and cannot be refused; Fluvius has installed only digital meters since 1 July 2019 (some exclusive-night-meter owners may postpone to 1 January 2028). Brussels and Wallonia roll out communicating meters under their own rules.

Solar panels

There is no national feed-in tariff. Solar owners sell surplus power through an injection contract with a supplier; in Flanders the reverse-running meter has been replaced by the digital meter. Wallonia and Brussels have their own prosumer and green-certificate rules.

Fixed and dynamic contracts

Flanders: if you have a digital meter, you have the right to a dynamic (hourly-priced) electricity contract from every supplier with more than 200,000 supply points in Flanders, under the Flemish Energy Decree.

• Flanders, draft decree (not yet law): the dynamic-contract duty would extend to suppliers with more than 50,000 supply points from 1 January 2027 and to all suppliers from 1 January 2029; large suppliers would have to offer a fixed-price contract of at least one year. (themis.vlaanderen.be)
• CREG: in a fixed-term contract the price or indexation formula cannot change before the end date; in an open-ended contract it can change with notice. A dynamic contract follows spot-market prices at least per market interval. (creg.be)

Energy sharing and communities

Flanders: anyone domiciled in Flanders can share solar power with themselves, within a building, with another person or in an energy community. Every participant needs a digital meter; the sharer asks their supplier for 'meetregime 3'. The group manager registers the sharing in Mijn Fluvius.

• Wallonia: to take part you must be a member of an energy community or be in the same building, have an electronic (communicating or AMR) meter, give up net-metering compensation, and, as a household, give up the social tariff on the shared part. (cwape.be)
• Brussels: every access point needs a smart meter that measures per quarter hour; replacing a low-voltage meter for energy sharing is free. An energy community needs a BRUGEL authorisation (10 years, renewable) and must register with the grid operator first. (brugel.brussels)

Heating without the gas grid

Heating oil, bulk propane and lamp petroleum have official maximum prices, calculated every working day by FOD Economie under a programme agreement; selling above the maximum price is not allowed. Flanders: heat networks are supervised by the Vlaamse Nutsregulator.

• Sociaal Verwarmingsfonds: people with a limited income who heat with heating oil, bulk propane or lamp petroleum can get an allowance; apply through the OCMW/CPAS. Bottled propane/butane, natural gas, pellets and wood are not covered. (verwarmingsfonds.be)
• Flanders, heat networks: protected customers pay a reduced heat price equal to the social tariff for gas; a supplier cannot cut you off from 1 December to 1 March, and before a cut a reminder, formal notice, payment plan offer and LAC referral are required. (vlaamsenutsregulator.be)
• Flanders: complain to your heat network operator first. If you disagree with the answer, you can ask the Vlaamse Nutsregulator to handle the dispute, as a last step. (vlaamsenutsregulator.be)

Grants for heat pumps and insulation

Flanders: Mijn VerbouwPremie is the Flemish government's grant for renovation and energy-saving work. Apply online via Mijn VerbouwLoket within 2 years of the last invoice. The scheme changed on 1 March 2026, mainly for owner-occupiers in the two highest income groups.

• Wallonia: the temporary 'Primes Habitation' scheme (from 14 February 2025) accepted applications until 30 September 2026. Under transitional rules, some applications under older schemes remain possible until 30 September 2027. Ask the Guichets de l'Énergie or call 1718. (energie.wallonie.be)
• Brussels: no new RENOLUTION grant applications are possible; the Brussels government has not yet decided on new renovation support. Homegrade gives free advice. (renolution.brussels)

Charging an electric car at home

Apartment co-owners (all of Belgium): the Civil Code (art. 3.82) lets a co-owner install cables and equipment in the common parts to optimise the energy infrastructure, at their own cost. Send a registered letter to the syndic at least two months before; objections must come within those two months.

• Co-owners can only object for a legitimate interest, for example similar infrastructure already exists, the work harms the look, use, hygiene or safety of the building, or it does not actually optimise anything. (ejustice.just.fgov.be)
• Flanders: a private charging point of 5 kVA or more on the low-voltage grid must be registered with Fluvius via Mijn Fluvius (a Vlaamse Nutsregulator rule since June 2021). (fluvius.be)

Back-billing and estimated bills

Under the federal consumer agreement 'De consument in de vrijgemaakte elektriciteits- en gasmarkt', a supplier may correct billing errors for at most 12 months after the payment date. If the error comes from a third party, such as the grid operator, the period set by the regulations applies.

• Flanders: the grid operator may correct meter data for the last two periodic meter-reading periods (about 2 years), and up to 5 years when the correction is in your favour or in case of bad faith (Technical Regulations). (ombudsenergie.be)
• For a late bill the Energy Ombudsman asks the supplier for compensation equal to the admin fee it charges for late payment, about €8 per month of delay. This is the Ombudsman's practice, not a legal right. (ombudsenergie.be)

Prepayment meters

Flanders: if you cannot pay a commercial supplier, Fluvius becomes your social supplier and the digital meter runs with Prepaid: you pay in advance, when and how much you choose. Activation is free. You leave Prepaid once your Fluvius debt is paid and you sign with a commercial supplier.

• Flanders: when your credit is used up you automatically get emergency credit of €75 for electricity or €75 for gas, repaid from your next top-up. After that, electricity drops to 10 amperes (2,300 W); when that is used up too, the meter switches off. (prepaid.fluvius.be)
• Flanders: from 1 November to 31 March the OCMW can grant a minimum supply to Prepaid customers who struggle to heat their home. (vlaamsenutsregulator.be)
• Wallonia: a prepayment meter (compteur à budget) or prepayment function is placed free of charge, e.g. after non-payment. It has emergency credit and does not cut off between 16:00 and 08:00 on weekdays or at weekends; protected customers keep a guaranteed 10 A electricity supply for up to 6 months. (cwape.be)

Energy costs for tenants

Flanders: in a residential lease, costs and charges must be stated separately from the rent, and the tenant may check the supporting invoices. A fixed amount (forfait) can be agreed, but either party can ask to switch to actual costs. For leases since 1 January 2019 the Flemish Rental Decree says who pays which costs.

• Flanders, collective heating: heating costs are split into a variable part based on individual heat meters or heat cost allocators and a fixed part by ownership shares; the owners' association sets the variable share between 40% and 90%. (vlaamsenutsregulator.be)

Vulnerable and medical customers

Brussels: any household customer with a debt to its supplier who has received a formal notice can ask for protected-customer status (via Sibelga or the OCMW/CPAS). The disconnection procedure is suspended and Sibelga supplies you at the social tariff until the debt is repaid.

• Flanders: from 1 November to 31 March the OCMW can grant a minimum energy supply to Prepaid customers who cannot heat their home; it also helps with budget management and debts. (vlaamsenutsregulator.be)
• Wallonia: while you keep to a reasonable payment plan (no extra fees allowed), the non-payment procedure is suspended; the CPAS can help negotiate it. (cwape.be)

Grid connection

Flanders: Fluvius must make a standard connection within 15 working days after you approve the quote (18 weeks if a detailed study is needed). If it is late, households can claim €25 per day; apply within 30 calendar days after the late connection.

• No compensation if you agreed to a later date, if extra works such as a network extension are needed, or in case of force majeure or delays not caused by Fluvius. (fluvius.be)
• Complain to Fluvius first. If that does not solve it, you can ask the Vlaamse Nutsregulator to handle your dispute with Fluvius, as a last step. (vlaamsenutsregulator.be)

Consumer organisation

Testaankoop / Test-Achats