Belgium (Brussels)

Overall assessment

Updated November 2024

Brussels has passed legislation to transpose EU legislation on RECs and CECs. However, this legislation does not cover all elements from the enabling framework that must be addressed. There is a basic legal framework to enable energy sharing, although further details are still forthcoming. All energy communities are eligible to benefit from the Green Certificates Scheme. However, this has incentivised third party investors to enter into the energy community space. Without any differentiation in incentives or additional support, there is little additional incentive for bottom-up REC initiatives to emerge. This situation risks creating an unlevel playing field for RECs compared to local energy communities. Participants of energy sharing are also eligible to receive a reduction in the grid fee component of their energy bill, reflecting reduced use of the grid. The incentive is quite modest, and it is unclear whether it is a true enabler of energy sharing. 

There have been innovative changes to the regulation of retail supply of electricity, with the creation of a limited supply license, which allows smaller energy sharing initiatives to mature over time. The limited license has been used by at least on CEC so far. The government has also established a Facilitator to provide information and advice. A process for registering and overseeing energy communities has also been created. Brugel, the energy regulator, has issued guidance to help potential applicants understand the specific eligibility requirements and procedures for registering an energy community. As for an official enabling framework, Brussels Environment was given the duty to perform an assessment of potential and barriers to the development of energy communities by the end of 2023. However, the assessment has not yet been published.

The growth of energy communities in Brussels has so far been dominated by local energy communities, indicating that the concept is being mostly used by third party investors rather than self-initiated initiatives driven by consumer. This phenomenon and its causes should be monitored carefully to ensure that further incentives are developed with a view towards ensuring a level playing field for consumer-driven energy community initiatives. 

Detailed assessment

Assessment of obstacles and potential for development of ECs

Brussels Environment was supposed to publish, by 31 December 2023, a study on the potential, development and operation of energy communities, including any unjustified obstacles and restrictions to their development, in consultation with Brugel. The study should provide an opportunity to assess how initial efforts to establish a framework for energy communities are progressing. However, it has not yet been published.
 

Removal of unjustified regulatory & administrative barriers

No supplier license is required for energy communities for sharing electricity between members. However, it must be balancing responsible, or delegate the responsibility to a third party.

Under changes to the Electricity Market law, it is also now possible to obtain a limited supply license. The intended effect of such a license is to allow smaller energy communities that have growth ambitions down the road to incrementally take on certain market responsibilities, rather than establishing a fully regulated supplier from the start.  Such a license may be issued under three scenarios:

  1. To supply a capped amount of electricity (this may limit the financial guarantee they need to provide);
  2. To supply certain categories of customers; or
  3. To supply themselves or their subsidiaries.

This type of limited supply license exempts smaller energy communities that engage in energy sharing to supply excess production (i.e. outside of the 15 minute period eligible for sharing) from certain responsibilities. Specifically, the license reduces the cost of obtaining a guarantee, and exempts the energy community from taking on responsibility for security of supply, which is still carried by a classical supplier. The energy community may not supply beyond its own members, the production must be from renewable sources, and the community must comply with the definitional criteria established in the regional legislation. The energy community must also still demonstrate a good reputation, professional capacity, knowledge of the Brussels market, and adequate technical (IT infrastructure and operations) and financial capacities. The energy community must also be capable of invoicing members, and must have in place communications, transparency and complaints mechanisms. 

DSO duties around cooperation with ECs and facilitation of energy sharing

Electricity sharing is defined, and the duties for DSOs are somewhat developed in the legislation, and more detailed regulations have been adopted. DSOs have a duty to provide an online tool allowing for participants in energy sharing to access their information, including metering data. The energy community has a duty to notify/register with the DSO before it commences its energy sharing activities. The DSO also has a duty to notify the supplier(s) of the members of the energy community.

Fair, proportionate, and transparent registration & licensing procedures

Registration is required to be considered an energy community. This designation must be approved by the Regulator, Brugel. To do this the energy community must submit an application form, and its articles of association or other constitutive documents (which also has minimal requirements to ensure compliance with participative and governance criteria). A decision must be provided within 60 days. The process is simple enough, and yet it ensures that energy communities are really based on organisational principles, and that they are respected. This should help reinforce trust amongst citizens who might be interested in joining or setting up an energy community.

Incentives connected to network tariffs based on a CBA

Legislation sets out that the tariff structure must promote the sharing of electricity from renewable energy sources, taking into account the structure of the existing distribution network, while also ensuring a balance between solidarity in covering the overall costs of the networks as well as the contribution to taxes, charges, surcharges, and fees. It also calls for a cost benefit analysis to inform the development of tariffs for participants in an energy community that share electricity. This implies that incentives for energy sharing are possible, but it also allows additional charges to be added.

In October 2022, the DSO approved tariffs, which include minimal incentives for shared electricity (over a 15 minute period) within buildings and under the low voltage network. Distribution tariffs are broken up between four sub-categories, including sharing within the same building, sharing on the same public grid under a single low voltage sub-station, sharing under a single transmission substation, and sharing under multiple transmission sub-stations. The tariff available to the community depends on which part of the grid the member furthest from the production facility is located.

At the beginning of 2023, Brugel published its cost-benefit analysis of distribution tariffs for energy sharing. Brugel used a 20 year period upon which to base different scenarios (2023-2042) for how network charges for energy sharing might impact the network. Brugel found that quantifiable benefits outweigh the costs for the DSO once a critical mass of connections (around 20%) participating in energy sharing is reached due to effective reductions in peak network contribution  (in terms of kW per project participant). This will delay investments in grid reinforcement for the DSO. This study demonstrates the positive impact local energy sharing can have for the grid by incentivising reduced use of the grid. The overall incentivising impact of the tariff for energy sharing is still unclear. The resulting reduction to the energy bill is quite modest, and based on feedback from energy communities on the ground, the main driver of energy community initiatives, in particular local energy communities, is the Green Certificates Scheme (see below).

Non-discriminatory treatment as market participant

Access to the electricity market shall be non-discriminatory. There are no details however, of why or how non-discrimination should be ensured for energy communities.

Accessibility to low-income & vulnerable households

There are no supportive policies or measures to promote participation in energy communities by low-income and vulnerable households. However, the Facilitator, has organised a workshop focused on how to undertake energy sharing in social housing.

Tools to access finance

A number of lending support programmes have been put in place to promote the growth of energy communities:

Tools to access information

The Brussels-Capital Region offers a free service through its designated Facilitator dedicated to project promoters in order to obtain technical, economic, legal or administrative advice and tools.

To help potential applicants navigate and understand eligibility criteria and procedures to set up and register an energy community, Brugel published an interpretation guidance document.

The regional distribution system operator (DSO), Sibelga, also publishes practical information on its website regarding energy sharing by an energy community. It explains the different types of energy communities, how the price for sharing energy is set, applicable network charges, and basic conditions for setting up a community.

Regulatory capacity building for public authorities

The Facilitator provides support to local authorities interested in setting up initiatives. It will publish a guide for municipalities and organise a workshop to explore the issue with municipalities.

NECP reporting on enabling frameworks

Not addressed in the transposition. Member States are required via the Governance Regulation (2018/1999) to report on their enabling frameworks for RECs by 15 March 2023.

Support Scheme adapted for RECs

Energy communities, along with other market actors, have access to the Green Certificates Scheme for production that is exported to the grid. This is ideal for creating a revenue stream for the community for electricity that is not consumed by the community, so that it can invest back into the communities activities and objectives. 

Mainly due to the benefits available under the Green Certificates Scheme. to date only local energy communities have been formed in Brussels. This has resulted in community initiatives in Brussels dominated by third party investors, rather than citizens and other local consumers themselves. There is currently no differentiation in incentives RECs and local energy communities can receive. In order to ensure a level playing field for bottom-up RECs, some differentiation in incentives should be explored.