Belgium's rising energy crisis;
✔ Recent surge sees electricity's price for next month up by 26% and gas by an alarming 36%
✔ Strikes, maintenance, and Europe's soaring cooling demands all converge to amplify the energy price crisis
✔ Some providers offer special promotions and cashbacks when switching to a fixed contract now
Belgium's consumer protection organisation, Test Achats, has warned that energy prices are rising again, which could be reflected in the cost of fixed contracts next month.
Energy prices already started increasing earlier this summer, but in recent days, energy prices on the gas and electricity market have further risen again, Test Achats noted in a press statement on Thursday, in which it advised households that are still on a variable energy contract to take out a fixed one instead.
"Compared to the beginning of this month, the forward price for the supply of electricity in the next month has increased by 26%. For gas, there is even an increase of 36%," the organisation warned, adding that they are likely to be even higher in September than they are now, which will most likely be reflected in the tariffs that suppliers will offer in September.
It has encouraged consumers looking to take out a fixed contract to do so before the end of the month. "Anyone who wants peace of mind during the winter period and does not want to proactively monitor energy prices on the markets would do well to take out a fixed contract before the end of this month," Laura Clays, spokesperson for Test Achats, said.
What contract is cheapest?
Fixed contracts had all but disappeared last year against the backdrop of rising energy prices in the build-up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but from the start of this year, more of such contracts became available – albeit at prices that were deemed to be too high.
A comparison across the regions showed that in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels, the fixed contracts offered by supplier Mega as part of Test Achats' special promotion (Mega Fixed Test Achats) launched in May this year are currently the cheapest on the market, thanks to the cashback of €132.5 per energy type. "Prices are updated every month to keep them among the lowest on the market," the companies said.
In Brussels, the cost of this contract for electricity is €1,481 with a promotion of €132.5, while for gas, the cost is €1,767 with the same cashback promo. The second-cheapest is Engie's Easy Fixed (€1,493 for electricity and €1,769 for gas), followed by Engie's Drive Fixed (€1,513 and €1,769). Discover the different prices per region here.
Test Achats warned that prices for delivery in the following quarters are also all on the rise. "There are a number of reasons for these increases: strikes at LNG terminals in Australia, maintenance work on gas facilities in Norway, and increased energy demand due to cooling demand in some European countries."
