Brussels’ regulator for water and energy prices, Brugel, has announced that water costs will increase from the start of next year.
From 1 January 2020, the cost of an annual water bill for a two-person household that consumes an average of 35m³ water per person will increase by 2.19%, or in other terms, by €5.52.
The impact of the tariff increase is relatively limited for the user (less than €3 per person, including value-added tax), Brugel Chairman Eric Mannès explained in a statement.
This decision comes after Brugel accepted an application for the indexation of different tariffs that was submitted by the public water company, VIVAQUA, in September 2019.
However, alongside the application submitted by VIVAQUA in September 2019 and resultant indexation announced on Wednesday, Brugel and the public water company have been working together to determine a more long term analysis of whether VIVAQUA's water prices reflect costs or not.
“After this precise analysis is carried out, a new methodology for calculation is expected to be approved sometime in the middle of 2020. After this, from 2021 onwards, there will be new tariffs, but it not yet clear how they will evolve,” VIVAQUA spokesperson Saar Vanderplaetsen explained.
Evie McCullough
The Brussels Times
