#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40019592

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Belgium announced a series of measures to tackle soaring energy prices on Wednesday, including cuts to public buildings’ power consumption and a proposal to tax the excess profits of energy companies such as Engie and TotalEnergies.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said heating in public buildings would be limited to 19 degrees Celsius and air conditioning use reduced. At the same time, the lighting of offices and monuments will be switched off at 7 p.m. Talks will continue to decide on turning off lights on highways and in cities at certain hours.

The federal government also said it would present by the end of September a proposal to tax the excess profits of energy companies.

“In our country, a tax on excess profits already exists in the nuclear sector. The aim of the (new) proposal is now to extend this measure to other companies in the energy sector, which profits are now very high,” De Croo told reporters after a meeting with regional political leaders.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began at the end of February, forced Belgium to rethink plans to rely more on natural gas and stop using nuclear power entirely in 2025.

In July, it reached an initial accord with French utility group Engie to extend the lives of its two newest nuclear reactors, Doel 4 and Tihange 3, by 10 years.

The Belgian government on Wednesday also asked operator Engie to look into postponing the final shutdown of one of its two oldest reactors Tihange 2 to March 31, 2023, at the latest, though Engie said it was impossible.

The EU’s statistics office Eurostat said earlier this year Belgium had the highest energy inflation in the EU and that the government in Brussels has only tinkered with taxes and tariffs to alleviate consumer pain.

Published : September 01, 2022

By : Reuters