Press - Media 2010

Today, the Belgian Regulator for the electricity and gas market, the CREG, has announced the tariffs for 2011 for the federal levy on electricity and natural gas. Febeliec, the federation of industrial energy consumers, deplores that companies will once again have to cope with a price increase of 30 to 50% of additional levies on energy prices. Peter Claes, director of Febeliec: “Since its introduction in 2003, the federal levy on electricity has quintupled (from 1 to more than 5€/MWh). Belgium risks losing its industry, because our competitors in the neighboring countries pay a lot less.”

Febeliec: “High electricity prices make Belgium unattractive for industry”

In 2020, an average Belgian company will pay 3 to 4 times more taxes on the electricity price. In total, this bill will amount to 1 billion of euro’s in 2010 for all industrial companies, as is demonstrated in an analysis by Febeliec, the federation of industrial energy consumers. The energy bill for a SME will thus cost between 100.000 and 1 million € extra. For a large company, the bill can even amount to 24 millions €. It concerns federal as well as regional taxes. The electricity price is already for one fifth composed of all kinds of taxes, and in 2020 this will increase to one third. “Belgium is one of the most expensive energy countries. If surcharges continue to increase in the upcoming years, Belgium will no longer be competitive for industrial investments”, says Peter Claes, manager of Febeliec.

Febeliec, the federation of the Belgian industrial energy consumers, took note of the CREG’s study, which shows that in 2009, electricity producers in our country obtained additional unexpected revenues (“windfall profits”) out of the impact of freely allocated CO2 emission rights on the electricity price. The CREG estimates that those unjustified revenues amount to 120 million euro for 2009, and to a total of no less than 1,7 billion euro for the period 2005-2009.

Although fuel prices decreased by no less than 40% in our country last year, Belgian companies still pay the same for their energy consumption. Large companies even saw their electricity bills increase by at least 10% in 2009. The gas bill, however, decreased for most companies, but not as fast as the decreasing international gas prices. These figures result from an enquiry carried out within 320 industrial companies. Febeliec, the federation of industrial consumers, denounces the lack of market functioning in our country and also points out the consequences of the increasing taxes on energy by the authorities. These taxes deteriorate the competitive position of our country.