The debt incurred by “green energy certificates” amounts to almost 2 billion euro.

The Flemish Budget Minister Annemie Turtelboom (liberal) hopes to clear the debt by introducing a levy on all electricity off-take points that are currently not subject to VAT.

Disadvantaged customers that have a budget meter installed in their homes will pay a levy of 25 euro/annum. Those that use less than 5 MWh/annum will pay 100 euro/annum and those that consume between 5 and 10 MWh/annum will pay 130 euro/annum.

According to figures from the Flemish energy regulator VREG, a family consisting of 2 adults and 1 child consumes an average of 3.5 MWh/annum.