Network operator Fluvius has already referred five persistent refusers of a digital meter for electricity and natural gas to the court. The company reported this today. In two cases, a digital meter has since been installed, with the customer’s permission.
A whole procedure preceded the decision to go to court. Since last year, persistent refusers have been receiving so-called ‘last chance letters’. Until last year, Fluvius always tried to convince those customers with letters and persuasion. Refusers are once again informed by registered letter what they risk if they refuse the installation of a digital meter. 15,523 such letters were sent in recent months.
These are people who in recent years did not respond positively to a call from Fluvius to have a digital meter installed, or where the grid operator remained standing in front of a closed door even after several appointments. In a large majority of cases (86 percent), the ‘last chance letters’ convince the customer to have a new meter installed.
LOOK. Can you refuse a digital meter?
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Anyone who does not respond after the last chance letters will be declared in default. A first notice of default is given by the Fluvius legal department. This has happened 43 times by the end of January. A second notice of default is given by a lawyer. For now there are six. These notices of default are accompanied by administrative costs of several hundred euros.
The first lawsuit was started at the end of October last year. If the judge decides in Fluvius’ favor, the grid operator may be forced to install the digital meter, if necessary with a bailiff and a locksmith.
The rollout of the digital meter started in Flanders in July 2019. All meters must be replaced by a digital one by July 1, 2029.
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