There are currently the following energy suppliers (gas + electricity) in Belgium: Electrabel, Luminus Octa+, Belpower, Essent, Lampiris, Ecopower and Nuon. Below is a brief overview.
Electrabel
Electrabel is the market leader in Belgium for the supply of energy services and is also an important employer. The registered office is located in Brussels. It is important to mention that Electrabel is part of the GDF Suez Group, which is the world leader in energy supply. The name Electrabel was created in 1990 from the merger of Ebes, Intercom and Unerg.
Luminus
In second place is the EDF Luminus group, which offers gas and electricity under the Luminus brand. Luminus has several power stations in Flanders and Wallonia. The electricity is generated by renewable energy sources (86%) and high-quality combined heat and power installations (14%). Luminus started its activities in 2003.
Octa+
A special mention for the energy supplier Ocat+, which since 2010 has also offered electricity and natural gas in addition to the supply of fuel and heating oil. It is the only one in Belgium that combines these 4.
Belpower
Belpower’s motto ‘driven by nature’ shows the importance that Belpower attaches to the supply of energy via natural sources. Belpower is a department of the Belgian association Reibel and was founded in 2002. Reibel is responsible for offering transport and logistics activities to worldwide aid organizations. From this offer of help, Reibel was one day confronted with a development project for a remote village where a solution based on the supply of energy had to be found. The starting signal was immediately given for the baptism of the ‘Belpower’ department, which would deal with ‘renewable energies’. Belpower is now a subsidiary of the ‘Belpower international group’, which therefore belongs to Reibel.
Essent
Essent also aims for 100% green energy supply. Thanks to the partnership with the RWE group in 2009, Essent managed to reach more than 200,000 Belgian families and thus supply energy. Thanks to this merger, Essent can now count itself among the 5 largest energy companies in Belgium.
Ecopower
Ecopower CVBA is a cooperative company that, like the suppliers discussed earlier, is committed to the supply of 100% green energy. The pillars here are cogeneration (simultaneous generation of heat and power), photovoltaic and wind energy. The company started operations in 2002.
Nuon
Nuon, originally from the Netherlands, has also been active in Belgium since 2002 under the name Nuon Belgium. Their goal is the reliable supply of electricity, gas and reducing energy consumption. In addition to Belgium and the Netherlands, the company is also active in Germany.