Many households are worried about rising energy prices. The federal government here is studying different avenues, but according to specialists, the room for maneuver is very limited. It will indeed be very difficult to counter the surge in our bills.
Hard to imagine even more expensive fuel prices. Yet, this may well be a reality. “We could very well imagine having a price of petrol and diesel well above two euros during the year maybe even three euros, we will see. Today things are taking a turn quite unexpected”explained Bruno Colmant, professor of economics at the Free University of Brussels (ULB) and the University of Louvain (UCL).
But what are the government’s solutions to deal with this situation? Response from our Prime Minister this morning: “When the product becomes so expensive, we can naturally do something on the government side so that when the prices increase, at least the taxes do not increase, explains Alexander De Croo. But we have to be realistic: we cannot pay all the bills on our side”.
Among the proposals, there is in particular the reverse ratchet at the pump. It would make it possible to reduce the amount of excise duty on fuel, and therefore mitigate the rise in prices. But according to experts, this will have little impact. “In any case, the imported part, what we really paid for as fuel, has increased sharply following international tensions and therefore we will have to support a price increase whatever the scenario and whatever the government’s action. “, esteem Bruno Colmant.
To reduce your energy bill, the best solution would be to lower your consumption, especially for those who heat themselves with gas. “Stop heating yourself with gas, put on a thick sweater, perhaps go and spend evenings with friends who do not heat themselves with gas, but reduce your gas consumption as much as possible because the prices are absolutely unreasonable and unaffordable for a large part of the populationconsiders Damien Ernst, specialist in energy issues at the University of Liège.
For those who can, Damien Ernst advises investing in a heat pump and photovoltaic panels. He advises against replacing his oil boiler with a gas boiler.