Rising energy prices are also weighing on the financial situation of some energy suppliers. Just think of the bankruptcy of the Flemish energy supplier at the end of 2021. When an energy supplier goes bankrupt, Fluvius is automatically designated as an emergency supplier. Companies and families will then have a maximum of sixty days to conclude a new contract with a private supplier. But for many families, that period of sixty days is too short. That is why the term is increased to one year.
“Today we see that that period of sixty days is sufficient for companies. However, this is not the case with families. After 45 days, about 90 percent of customers have signed a new contract. In theory, households that have not concluded a new contract with a new supplier after sixty days will be disconnected from the grid. We now want to change that”, say the authors of the decree.
“Happily, closing a household off the grid is not an easy thing to do. A robust administrative procedure has been provided for this, so that the consumer is protected as much as possible. This procedure obviously takes some time. To ensure that consumers remain fully protected and do not end up in a legal twilight zone, we are now adjusting the term to twelve months.
The left-wing opposition parties (Green, Vooruit, PVDA) abstained from the vote.