With record inflation and the abolition across the country of fixed-price contracts when they expire, household bills have doubled or even tripled. This is what happened to Jean, in his sixties. “It’s really disastrous”he laments.
“Everywhere, we try to save money: on food, heating, lighting, on everything! Prices here increased by 12% last month. In France, it’s 6% because you have the tariff shield We don’t have it!”
Jean, from Brusselsat franceinfo
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He took his gas and electricity bills and went to see Infor GazElec, a advice and information center on energy where the people of Brussels parade. Nicolas Porcin is the coordinator, his service is overwhelmed. “These are anxious people, wondering how they are going to pay their bills.”he says. “I’ve worked here for 15 years, I’ve never seen that. The requests have tripled, it’s huge!”
Faced with soaring energy prices and falling purchasing power, the unions are calling for a national strike day, Wednesday 9 November. They believe that the aid promised by the Belgian government is part of the campaign “pre-election” of the Conservative party in power and will not be enough. This envelope of 5.5 billion decided by the government should make it possible to fight against inflation. In particular, it provides for aid of 250 euros for the lowest incomes who see electricity bills rising, housing aid for students and an emergency grant for farmers.
Infor GazElec also advises SMEs. Bakers, butchers for example, on the verge of bankruptcy. In Brussels, small restaurants plan to close one day a week, or even several months this winter, to cut out the cold, energy-consuming rooms.
At Thaï Café, a large restaurant chain that also sells take-out, Michel De Bloos made another choice. Since the beginning of October, he has been asking for one euro of “energy contribution” per customer. “The observation was that we had, overall, for all of our restaurants, around 100,000 euros in energy cost increases per month. I made the parallel: we have around 100,000 customers, so that represents one euro per person!”
Customers are notified by means of a poster. Alicia is one of the customers of the Thaï Café and “favorite” let it be written in black and white rather than “hidden in the menu, where you can’t see it. At least it’s clear, we know it!” The measure is intended to be temporary and therefore reversible, promises the boss of this chain.
“It’s really disastrous”: in Brussels, the increase in energy prices is destabilizing individuals and professionals alike – report by Angélique Bouin
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