At the beginning of this week, Flemish minister Demir announced that she wants to find around 200 million euros to bring down the sky-high energy bills. It is now clear how the Flemish government intends to do this in concrete terms.
The largest part comes from the public service obligations of the grid operator, such as street lighting. These costs will be deducted from the invoice once. The Energy Fund and its reserves will help, amounting to more than 166 million euros. Because the federal government charges 21 percent VAT on public service obligations, a total of 201.6 million euros will disappear from the invoice, it sounds.
The measure should bring an average family about 50 euros per year from next year: 43 euros plus the reduction in network tariffs. “We mainly focused on families and singles and on low voltage, i.e. smaller SMEs, local shops and cafes. For average consumption, that comes down to about 50 euros,” explains Minister Demir.
From the middle of next year, the government will also structurally scrap a number of premiums that it now awards and which are paid via our electricity bill. One of these is the subsidy for a natural gas connection for those who are building a new house. Installing such a connection will therefore become more expensive. “As a result, the government can get an additional 34 million euros from the energy bill,” said the Demir cabinet.
–
