In Belgium, the energy sector is managed regionally. This implies that each of the three Regions define the rules governing this sector. Thus gas and electricity services, as required by the European Union, were liberalised in Flanders on 1st July 2003, and in Brussels and Wallonia on 1st January 2007.
Since the liberalisation of the market, Brussels has several service operators (Electrabel, Luminus, Nuon, E.On, EDF Belgium amongst others). Brussels-Capital region will guide you on the site www.brugel.be, where you will find all the necessary information you need to choose an operator. Once you have chosen your operator you simply need to contact them to open an account.Contrary to certain generally accepted beliefs, no fine will be imposed if you don't change your supplier. In this case, a supplier by default (Electrabel Customer Solutions) will be automatically designated and you will remain supplied by this supplier for as long as you don't choose any another or you don't move.
As ideally you should compare the offers of the various suppliers before deciding, it is important that you check certain criteria. The price can be fixed or variable according to the market energy prices, and the contract period can also vary from one supplier to another, as can the customer service.
