Monitoring of costs by the CREG

As set out in a previous blog, the federal government has submitted a draft act allowing the CREG to monitor the electricity and natural gas prices in Belgium.

The draft act modifies the Electricity Act and the Gas Act and stipulates that electricity and natural gas prices must be in reasonable proportion to the costs of the electricity and natural gas undertakings. The CREG will evaluate the relation between the costs and the prices by comparing the costs and prices of comparable undertakings, if possible also in an international context. If electricity or natural gas undertakings are affiliated companies, an abuse of a dominant position is suspected if it offers discriminatory prices or conditions to third parties.

If the CREG judges that there is no objective reasonable relation between the costs and the prices, it will draft a report for the minister of energy that will include its findings and the measures it proposes. The CREG will also communicate the alleged infringements to the Competition Council.

It goes without saying that the new draft act leaves more questions open than answered.

Monitoring of costs by the CREG