Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Federale Overheidsdienst Economie, K.M.O., Middenstand en Energie
1.2. Contact organisation unit
Energiemonitoring & Electriciteitssysteem
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
North Gate, Boulevard Albert II, 1000 Bruxelles
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
12 July 2022
2.2. Metadata last posted
30 June 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
30 June 2025
3.1. Data description
European statistics on natural gas prices for household and final non-household customers.
3.2. Classification system
Internal Eurostat classification system based on annual natural gas consumption bands and tax levels.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Household sector and final non-household sector (industry, services, offices, agriculture, etc).
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
The prices are collected in national currencies per GJ and according to different bands of consumption.
The yearly consumption volumes are, on condition that they are not confidential, reported in percentage and according to the same bands of consumption.
For the households sector, these bands are:
D1: Customers consuming less than 20 GJ.
D2: Customers consuming 20 GJ or more but less than 200 GJ.
D3: Customers consuming 200 GJ or more.
For the final non-households sector, the bands are:
I1: Customers consuming less than 1000 GJ.
I2: Customers consuming 1000 GJ or more but less than 10000 GJ.
I3: Customers consuming 10000 GJ or more but less than 100000 GJ.
I4: Customers consuming 100000 GJ or more but less than 1000000 GJ.
I5: Customers consuming 1000000 GJ or more but less than 4000000 GJ.
I6: Customers consuming 4000000 GJ or more.
There exist 2 different levels of disagregation for semestrial and annual prices:
1- Semestrial prices:
These prices are reported twice a year and are divided in 3 levels:
Level 1 prices: Prices excluding taxes and levies.
Level 2 prices: Prices excluding VAT and other recoverable taxes and levies.
Level 3 prices: Prices including all taxes and levies.
2- Annual prices:
These prices are reported once a year together with the data for the second semester and are divided into the following components and taxes:
Energy and supply: commodity price for natural gas paid by the supplier or the price of natural gas at the point of entry into the transmission system, including, if applicable, the following end-user costs: storage costs plus costs relating to the sale of natural gas to final customers.
Network cost: transmission and distribution tariffs, transmission and distribution losses, network costs, after-sale service costs, system service costs and meter rental and metering costs.
Value added taxes (VAT): as defined in Council Directive 2006/112/EC.
Renewable taxes: taxes, fees, levies or charges relating to the promotion of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and CHP generation.
Capacity taxes: taxes, fees, levies or charges relating to strategic stockpiles, capacity payments and energy security; taxes on natural gas distribution; stranded costs and levies on financing energy regulatory authorities or market and system operators.
Environmental taxes: taxes, fees, levies or charges relating to air quality and for other environmental purposes; taxes on emissions of CO2 or other greenhouse gases. This component includes the excise duties.
All other taxes: taxes, fees, levies or charges not covered by any of the previous four categories: support for district heating; local or regional fiscal charges; island compensation; concession fees relating to licences and fees for the occupation of land and public or private property by networks or other devices.
In addition to these elements, the network cost is split into the respective shares of transmission and distribution. The relative share of consumption in the different consumption bands is reported by the countries and used to calculated the single national natural gas prices (weighted averages for consumer bands IA-IF and DA-DE) but not published because it could be used to re-calculate some confidential values.
Only the VAT for non-households customers is recoverable.
In the table below are the taxes reported in "All other taxes"
Band
Name of the tax
Part of "the energy contribution" is destined for the finance of 'social measures'. This part belongs to "all other taxes".
Not all taxes are identifiable. Their amount is caculated in an indirect way (substraction of all identifiable taxes from the total tax). The result is added to "all other taxes".
3.5. Statistical unit
Household and final non-household consumers divided into consumption bands.
3.6. Statistical population
Household customers: Data coming from 8 suppliers out of 50+ suppliers (hh and non hh) and representing >90% of the household customers.
Final non-household customers: Data coming from 20 suppliers out of 50+ suppliers (hh and non hh) and representing >90% of the final non-household customers.
3.7. Reference area
The whole country.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Natural gas prices data for Belgium are available since 2006.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Prices are reported in national currency per GJ. However, Eurostat also calculates and publishes the prices in EURO and PPS (purchasing power parity) and do the conversion to kWh. Relative shares of sub-component of the network component and consumption volumes are reported in percentages.
For semestrial prices, the reference periods are from January to June for semester 1 and from July to December for semester 2.
For annual prices, the reference period is the whole calendar year (from January to December).
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
At EU level:
Regulation (EU) 2016/1952 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on European statistics on natural gas and electricity prices and repealing Directive 2008/92/EC (Text with EEA relevance).
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2169 of 21 November 2017 concerning the format and arrangements for the transmission of European Statistics on natural gas and electricity prices pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2016/1952 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Text with EEA relevance).
Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1734 of 14 November 2018 granting derogations to the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the Italian Republic and the Republic of Cyprus as regards the provision of statistics pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2016/1952 of the European Parliament and of the Council (notified under document C(2018) 7465) (Text with EEA relevance).
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/803 concerning the content of quality reports on European statistics on natural gas and electricity prices pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2016/1952 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Text with EEA relevance).
At national level:
KB (06 January 2019) betreffende de organisatie van de inzameling van gegevens inzake de opstelling van de aardgas-, electriciteits- en warmtebalans en de opstelling van statistieken over de prijzen van aardgas en elektriciteit. (Royal decree (6 January 2019) on the organisation of the data collection for the establishment of statistics on gas, electricity and heat balance and the establishment of price statistics on gas and electricity.)
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
At EU level:
Eurostat does not share the data collected with other organisation appart from its usual dissemination chanel (Eurostat's database, statistic explained articles and press or news release).
At national level:
Data is sent to eurostat.
The same data that are sent to Eurostat are shared with Belgian stakeholders on demand.
Wet van 8 december 1992 tot bescherming van de persoonlijke levenssfeer ten opzichte van de verwerking van persoonsgegevens. (Law of 8 December 1992 on the protection of privacy with regard to the treatment of individual data)
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Published data should not allow identification of single consumers.
The price statistics are based on aggregate data that have been sent by gas suppliers in the context of a survey in which participation is obligatory above a threshold.
In the case of price data, for each consumer band , there are enough companies and no company has a dominant market share.
In the case of consumption volumes (in %), the data of consumption bands I4, I5 and I6 are kept confidential.
Micro-data are kept secret.
8.1. Release calendar
There is no release calendar.
We base ourselves on the calendar of Eurostat.
8.2. Release calendar access
There is no release calendar.
8.3. Release policy - user access
Stakeholders can be (on demand) provided with the same aggregate data that have been sent to Eurostat (once these data have been validated by Eurostat).
Natural gas prices in Belgium are published on a semestrial basis on Eurostat's website.
The documentation on methodology is, at the current time, only available in a manual that has been written in Dutch. This manual will receive an important update by the end of 2019. Thereafter we are planning translations in French and English (of the whole manual or of a summary version).
The statistics on Electricity and Gas prices are fundamentally based on surveys with electricity and gas providers. We assure the quality of our data basically through
Assuring the representativity of the sample of providers that are obliged to participate in the survey.
Giving the providers written methodolgical instructions on how to answer the survey.
Controling the qualilty of the surveyed data.
To give feed back to the providers in order to enhance the quality of the survey.
To make necessary corrections (extreme case will be omitting the survey data of a provider if these data are deemed unreliable.
With regard to the separating out of taxes in subcategories we make use of "adiminstrative data". We assure the quality of these data through
Our effort to collect the available relevant administrative data.
Our effort to make realistic and refined assumptions on how to combine these administrative data with the survey data.
Controling the consistency of the results obtained.
The statistics on Electricity and Gas prices are fundamentally based on surveys with electricity and gas providers. We manage the quality of our data basically through
Assuring the representativity of the sample of providers that are obliged to participate in the survey.
Giving the providers written methodolgical instructions on how to answer the survey.
Controling the qualilty of the surveyed data.
To give feed back to the providers in order to enhance the quality of the survey.
To make necessary corrections (extreme case will be omitting the survey data of a provider if these data are deemed unreliable.
With regard to the separating out of taxes in subcategories we make use of "adiminstrative data". We manage the quality of these data through
Our effort to collect the available relevant administrative data.
Our effort to make realistic and refined assumptions on how to combine these administrative data with the survey data.
Controling the consistency of the results obtained.
A potential source of inaccuracy could be the fact that the smallest suppliers (cutt-off sampling) are not obliged to participate in the survey. However (1) their aggregate market share is so low (<10%) and the level of price competition is so high that we are confident that this potential source of inaccuracy is negligible.
Another potential source of inaccuracy could be the quality of the provided surveydata. This risk is encountered by a systematic effort to detect and to correct suvh errors.
13.2. Sampling error
A potential source of inaccuracy could be the fact that the smallest suppliers (cutt-off sampling) are not obliged to participate in the survey. However (1) their aggregate market share is so low (<10%) and the level of price competition is so high that we are confident that this potential source of inaccuracy is negligible.
13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
Not assessed but considered as negligible
13.3. Non-sampling error
Information is included in the sub-concepts S.13.3.1-S.13.3.5.
13.3.1. Coverage error
There is no coverage error.
13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate
There is no over-coverage error.
13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion
For the first semester statistics: 100% of the datapoints are 100% based on survey data.
For the second semester: 44,4% of the datapoints are 100% based on survey data and 55,5 % are partially based on survey data (calcluation of the total tax) and partially based on adminstrative data (imputation on total tax).
13.3.2. Measurement error
Mistakes can be made by reporting enterprises in the reporting prices. Data from the data suppliers are analysed in a critical way and incorrect data are adjusted after contacting the concerned data supplier.
13.3.3. Non response error
The weight of an enterprise that has not responded to the survey (or that had to be refused because of quality problems) is set to zero.
13.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate
0%. All suppliers having at least 2% market share in at least one relevant sub-market are legally obliged to participate in the questionnaire.
13.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate
0%. All suppliers having at least 2% market share in at least one relevant sub-market are legally obliged to participate in the questionnaire for all items.
13.3.4. Processing error
There is no processing error.
13.3.5. Model assumption error
Not Applicable.
14.1. Timeliness
Natural gas providers that participate in the national data collection are requested to provide the natural gas price data within 2 months after the reference period. After arrival, the statistical office checks the micro-data for correctness, consistency and completeness and national averages are calculated and reported to Eurostat during the third month after the reference period.
14.1.1. Time lag - first result
The first version of the natural gas price questionnaire for households for the 1st semester of 2019 was sent [87] days after the reference period.
The first version of the natural gas price questionnaire for households for the 2nd semester of 2019 was sent 92 days after the reference period.
The first version of the natural gas price questionnaire for households for the 1st semester of 2020 was sent 91 days after the reference period.
The first version of the natural gas price questionnaire for households for the 2nd semester of 2020 was sent 90 days after the reference period.
The first version of the natural gas price questionnaire for households for the 1st semester of 2021 was sent 90 days after the reference period.
The first version of the natural gas price questionnaire for households for the 2nd semester of 2021 was sent 90 days after the reference period.
The first version of the natural gas price questionnaire for non-households for the 1st semester of 2019 was sent 87 days after the reference period.
The first version of the natural gas price questionnaire for non-households for the 2nd semester of 2019 was sent 92 days after the reference period.
The first version of the natural gas price questionnaire for non-households for the 1st semester of 2020 was sent 91 days after the reference period.
The first version of the natural gas price questionnaire for non-households for the 2nd semester of 2020 was sent 90 days after the reference period.
The first version of the natural gas price questionnaire for non-households for the 1st semester of 2021 was sent 90 days after the reference period.
The first version of the natural gas price questionnaire for non-households for the 2nd semester of 2021 was sent 90 days after the reference period.
14.1.2. Time lag - final result
Final version of the natural gas price questionnaire for households for the 1st semester of 2019 was sent 152 days after the reference period, 65 days after the first version and 62 day(s) after the mandatory deadline. (random checking and validations).
Final version 2 of the natural gas price questionnaire for households for the 2nd semester of 2019 was sent 97 days after the reference period, 5 days after the first version and 7 day(s) after the mandatory deadline. (random checking and validations).
14.2. Punctuality
The legal deadline for submitting the questionnaires is the third month after the reference period.
14.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication
Final version of the natural gas price questionnaire for households for the 1st semester of 2019 was sent 152 days after the reference period, 65 days after the first version and 62 day(s) after the mandatory deadline. (random checking and validations)
FInal version 2 of the natural gas price questionnaire for households for the 2nd semester of 2019 was sent 97 days after the reference period, 5 days after the first version and 7 day(s) after the mandatory deadline. (random checking and validations)
15.1. Comparability - geographical
There is no problem of comparability over countries or regions.
15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient
Not applicable
15.2. Comparability - over time
There have been some changes but not enough to warrant the designation of a break in series.
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
The data is comparable since 2006 (26 cycles).
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Not applicable
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
Not applicable
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
Not applicable
15.4. Coherence - internal
Annual prices are coherent with the semestrial prices.
We do our best to maximise cost efficiency. One of the sub-strategies is to avoid bureaucratic procedures as much as possible.
The range and detail of data collected by survey is limited to what is absolutely necessary;
Administrative and other survey sources are used to the fullest extent possible;
Data collection by e-mail;
Best estimates and approximations are accepted when exact details are not readily available;
The reporting burden on individual respondents is limited to the extent possible by minimizing the overlap with other surveys.
Estimation of man-days to collect, validate, compile and send the data: approximately 40% of a full time man-year for the statistician.
17.1. Data revision - policy
There are 3 types of revisions :
Revisions of provisional figures: carried out, according to a predefinid scheme, following the availability of new (more complete) figures.
Revisions as a consequence of changes in methodology. (much less frequent) (generally result in a rupture of timeseries. Such revisions can be necessitaed by:
changes of concepts, definitions, classifications or de international norms ;
modification of a legal base ;
modification of methodology or approach ;
new data sources;
technical or managerial changes ;
actualisation of a reference weight scheme.
Corrections of errors (errors in survey or administrative data, wrong hypotheses, calculation errors, etc...) are ad hoc revisions.
A planning of revisions is established conform the European legislation andd the annual work programme.
17.2. Data revision - practice
At the same time that semester statistics are compiled there is a relatively high probability of revising the statistics of the previous semester. This is because of the fact that the actual data will always be compared with the data of the previous 2 semesters. If there would have been undetected errors or "arbitrary quality decisions" that are not upheld in the following semester, then the figures of the previous semesters will be revised. The clear advantage of this process is that the information relevance of the actual statistics will be enhanced if they can be compared with previous data in a reliable way.
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
Households gas prices collection: 0
Non-households gas prices collection: 0
18.1. Source data
The source data for all data points, except the yearly tax subcategories, are survey data.
The yearly tax subcategories (except vat) are based on administrative data.
For the first semester statistics: 100% of the datapoints are 100% based on survey data.
For the second semester: 44,4% of the datapoints are 100% based on survey data and 55,5 % are partially based on survey data (calcluation of the total tax) and partially based on adminstrative data (imputation on total tax).
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Bi-annual.
18.3. Data collection
Cut-off sampling (every provider which has at least 2% market share in at least one relevant sub-market is legally obliged to participate in the questionnaire.
Validation activities include: checking that the population coverage and response rates are as required; comparing the statistics with previous cycles; confronting the statistics against other relevant data (both internal and external); investigating inconsistencies in the statistics; outlier detection.
18.5. Data compilation
All statistical vairiables (except the tax subcategories that have to be provided once a year) are calculated as a weighted arithmetic mean of the same variables that have been surveyed by the providers.
Each provider has of weight for each consumption segment, that is based on its market share (in physical terms) for that segment.
European statistics on natural gas prices for household and final non-household customers.
30 June 2025
The prices are collected in national currencies per GJ and according to different bands of consumption.
The yearly consumption volumes are, on condition that they are not confidential, reported in percentage and according to the same bands of consumption.
For the households sector, these bands are:
D1: Customers consuming less than 20 GJ.
D2: Customers consuming 20 GJ or more but less than 200 GJ.
D3: Customers consuming 200 GJ or more.
For the final non-households sector, the bands are:
I1: Customers consuming less than 1000 GJ.
I2: Customers consuming 1000 GJ or more but less than 10000 GJ.
I3: Customers consuming 10000 GJ or more but less than 100000 GJ.
I4: Customers consuming 100000 GJ or more but less than 1000000 GJ.
I5: Customers consuming 1000000 GJ or more but less than 4000000 GJ.
I6: Customers consuming 4000000 GJ or more.
There exist 2 different levels of disagregation for semestrial and annual prices:
1- Semestrial prices:
These prices are reported twice a year and are divided in 3 levels:
Level 1 prices: Prices excluding taxes and levies.
Level 2 prices: Prices excluding VAT and other recoverable taxes and levies.
Level 3 prices: Prices including all taxes and levies.
2- Annual prices:
These prices are reported once a year together with the data for the second semester and are divided into the following components and taxes:
Energy and supply: commodity price for natural gas paid by the supplier or the price of natural gas at the point of entry into the transmission system, including, if applicable, the following end-user costs: storage costs plus costs relating to the sale of natural gas to final customers.
Network cost: transmission and distribution tariffs, transmission and distribution losses, network costs, after-sale service costs, system service costs and meter rental and metering costs.
Value added taxes (VAT): as defined in Council Directive 2006/112/EC.
Renewable taxes: taxes, fees, levies or charges relating to the promotion of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and CHP generation.
Capacity taxes: taxes, fees, levies or charges relating to strategic stockpiles, capacity payments and energy security; taxes on natural gas distribution; stranded costs and levies on financing energy regulatory authorities or market and system operators.
Environmental taxes: taxes, fees, levies or charges relating to air quality and for other environmental purposes; taxes on emissions of CO2 or other greenhouse gases. This component includes the excise duties.
All other taxes: taxes, fees, levies or charges not covered by any of the previous four categories: support for district heating; local or regional fiscal charges; island compensation; concession fees relating to licences and fees for the occupation of land and public or private property by networks or other devices.
In addition to these elements, the network cost is split into the respective shares of transmission and distribution. The relative share of consumption in the different consumption bands is reported by the countries and used to calculated the single national natural gas prices (weighted averages for consumer bands IA-IF and DA-DE) but not published because it could be used to re-calculate some confidential values.
Only the VAT for non-households customers is recoverable.
In the table below are the taxes reported in "All other taxes"
Band
Name of the tax
Part of "the energy contribution" is destined for the finance of 'social measures'. This part belongs to "all other taxes".
Not all taxes are identifiable. Their amount is caculated in an indirect way (substraction of all identifiable taxes from the total tax). The result is added to "all other taxes".
Household and final non-household consumers divided into consumption bands.
Household customers: Data coming from 8 suppliers out of 50+ suppliers (hh and non hh) and representing >90% of the household customers.
Final non-household customers: Data coming from 20 suppliers out of 50+ suppliers (hh and non hh) and representing >90% of the final non-household customers.
The whole country.
For semestrial prices, the reference periods are from January to June for semester 1 and from July to December for semester 2.
For annual prices, the reference period is the whole calendar year (from January to December).
A potential source of inaccuracy could be the fact that the smallest suppliers (cutt-off sampling) are not obliged to participate in the survey. However (1) their aggregate market share is so low (<10%) and the level of price competition is so high that we are confident that this potential source of inaccuracy is negligible.
Another potential source of inaccuracy could be the quality of the provided surveydata. This risk is encountered by a systematic effort to detect and to correct suvh errors.
Prices are reported in national currency per GJ. However, Eurostat also calculates and publishes the prices in EURO and PPS (purchasing power parity) and do the conversion to kWh. Relative shares of sub-component of the network component and consumption volumes are reported in percentages.
All statistical vairiables (except the tax subcategories that have to be provided once a year) are calculated as a weighted arithmetic mean of the same variables that have been surveyed by the providers.
Each provider has of weight for each consumption segment, that is based on its market share (in physical terms) for that segment.
The source data for all data points, except the yearly tax subcategories, are survey data.
The yearly tax subcategories (except vat) are based on administrative data.
For the first semester statistics: 100% of the datapoints are 100% based on survey data.
For the second semester: 44,4% of the datapoints are 100% based on survey data and 55,5 % are partially based on survey data (calcluation of the total tax) and partially based on adminstrative data (imputation on total tax).
Natural gas prices in Belgium are published on a semestrial basis on Eurostat's website.
Natural gas providers that participate in the national data collection are requested to provide the natural gas price data within 2 months after the reference period. After arrival, the statistical office checks the micro-data for correctness, consistency and completeness and national averages are calculated and reported to Eurostat during the third month after the reference period.
There is no problem of comparability over countries or regions.
There have been some changes but not enough to warrant the designation of a break in series.
