To keep the population's energy bills a bit under control following the sky-high prices last year, Belgium's various governments worked out several premiums. For the federal energy grants, there is only one week left to apply until the deadline.
To address the steep increase in energy costs last year, the Federal Government created a number of grants, such as the basic energy package or the heating oil voucher. Some of these are settled automatically, while others you have to apply for.
For those who are eligible to do so, the deadline is in one week: next Sunday, 30 April 2023. Here is an overview of what to do.
The "basic energy package"
All households with a variable energy contract or with a fixed contract (for natural gas and/or electricity) dating from after 30 September 2022 are eligible to receive the basic energy package. For the discount to be correctly allocated, it is vital that the data on the customer's energy contract matches their data in the national register.
The discount will not be given to cover the energy bills of people's second homes, and people already entitled to the social tariff are also excluded from this measure, while the highest earners will have to repay part of the discount afterwards through taxes.
Initially, this discount only applied for November and December 2022 (the first basic package), but was extended to January, February and March 2023 (the second basic package). The package gives people an allowance for gas (€135 per month) and electricity (€61 per month) – amounting to a total sum of just under €200 per month, over the course of five months.
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The discount is automatically deducted from the (advance) payments, or is deposited directly into a bank account. For example, 4,700,000 grants were automatically paid (2,983,007 premiums for an electricity contract and 1,780,000 premiums for a gas contract), amounting to €844,600,000.
Those who think they are entitled to the first basic energy package, but have not automatically received the premium, can submit an application to the FPS Economy themselves. This application must be received by 30 April 2023 at the latest.
How do you get it? The application can be done online, by e-mail or by post (send to address: GasElek2022 - PB 30100 - 1000 Brussels). The deadline for the second basic energy package (for the months of January, February and March 2023) is 31 July 2023. Applications can be submitted from today, Monday 24 April.
Heating oil cheque
Every household to which a supplier has supplied domestic heating oil or propane in bulk for the heating of the main residence between 15 November 2021 and 31 March 2023 can apply for the fuel oil cheque worth €300.
Applying for the cheque is only possible once, regardless of the number of deliveries received.
How do you get it? Those who still want to enjoy the discount, but have not yet submitted an application, can do so until 30 April 2023 – digitally or by registered mail. The FPS Economy has already received 932,259 applications.
Pellet premium
The pellet premium is a one-off €250 sum that is awarded to households that mainly heat their main home with pellets, and cannot be combined with the fuel oil cheque or the basic gas package. Households already benefitting from the social rate are also not entitled to the pellet premium.
The premium applies to the purchase of at least 500 kg of wood pellets in bulk. They must have been delivered by a company between 1 June 2022 and 31 March 2023.
How do you get it? You can apply for the pellet premium online or by registered mail until 30 April 2023. The FPS Economy has already received 47,726 applications.
