Brussels EV and heat pump owners face sharply more expensive electricity

Brussels energy regulator Brugel has approved Sibelga’s new network tariffs for electricity and natural gas in 2025 and 2029. This will initially result in a higher bill for Brussels households of around 67 euros.

At the same time, Brugel is also introducing a specific tariff for reinforcing electricity connection points. The aim is, among other things, to sensitize owners of electric cars and heat pumps to spread their consumption.

Increases of 11 to 13%

A Brussels household consuming both electricity and natural gas will thus see distribution and transmission costs rise by around 67 euros on average between 2024 and 2025, or 5,5 euros per month. These are households consuming an average of 2,104 kWh of electricity per year.

They will see its distribution of electricity bill increase by 26,58 euros in 2025 (+11%). This bill will also increase by more than 5% in 2026 and by more than 4% in 2027.

For natural gas, the intention is also to support the gradual phasing out of fossil gas; an average of 23 euros will be added in 2025, an increase of almost 13%. The following years will see an additional 1,8%. Add the bill to that of the 60% increase in transport tariffs from national transmission system operator Elia, or 17,79 euros per year, and the impact on an average Brussels customer will thus be around an extra 67 euros in 2025.

The charging point is more expensive from 9,2 kVA

Making heavier connections for EVs more expensive concerns strengthening connection points over 9,2-kilovolt amps. Starting next year, those who want a heavier connection will pay 54 euros per kilovolt ampere for it.

However, according to the Brussels energy watchdog, connection reinforcement is not necessary for a traditional charging point or most heat pumps.

Reinforcement may well be necessary for those who want to run a charging station and heat pump simultaneously. “With the new tariff, we want to sensitize users to spread their consumption,” says spokesperson Adeline Moerenhout.

The specific tariff should also help “fairly finance” the development of the low-voltage grid. Otherwise, everyone contributes to that cost, but now only those who use the grid for that purpose.

Also, more expensive tariffs in Wallonia

Distribution tariffs for both electricity and gas will also rise by an average of 14% for households in Wallonia next year. Cwape, the Walloon energy regulator, announced this. This amounts to an average increase of 77 euros a year for electricity if Elia’s transmission tariffs are also added and around 60 to 100 euros for gas, depending on whether you are an Ores or Rese customer.

Nevertheless, Walloon companies will feel the impact of the new distribution tariffs in Wallonia the most. According to the business newspaper L’Echo, a small company consuming 2 GWh per year will pay an average of 43,869 euros in distribution costs in 2025. That is about 10,000 euros more than last year. If we add transmission costs, we arrive at an average increase of 47% over a year.

For the largest players connected to the medium-voltage grid, i.e., 50 GWh/year, distribution will cost 10% more than in 2024. With Elia tariffs added, the increase amounts to 62%, or 456,000 euros extra in one year.

Undoubtedly, these more expensive costs, often due to investments to modernize the network because of the energy transition, will also be passed on to the customer.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Belgian consumers pay the world’s highest transmission and distribution network rates on electricity bills.