Sibelga’s teams look after the gas (2,928 km) and electricity (6,508 km) networks on a daily basis. These networks are constantly maintained and modernised to meet new energy consumption needs, ensure the safety of all citizens and to prepare for the future of heating.
Around 30% of the public lighting network has already been converted to LED. The target is to reach 100% by 2030. By replacing 8,838 light points with LEDs, energy consumption in 2024 was reduced by 9% compared with 2023. Sibelga is making the most of the switch to LED to also install a “smart” lighting system that is capable of transmitting and receiving data from each individual light point so these can be dimmed as required, of remotely controlling the light points and of sending alerts in case of malfunctions.
The work to prepare tomorrow’s network starts today. With this in mind, in 2024 Sibelga finalised its five-year development plan, covering the 2025–2029 time frame. This plan earmarks over €500 million of investments to strengthen the electricity network, with a dedicated €45 million budget going to gas network maintenance.
Strengthening Employer Branding has been a major focus of our HR strategy in 2024 in order to attract talented professionals in a highly competitive environment. This employer appeal strategy paid off, with a sharp rise in the volume of applications and 13% more recruitments than in 2023. Sibelga has also been certified as a Top Employer for the 13th year running and was ranked in the Top 5 most attractive employers in Randstad’s Employer Branding survey.
We already have 93,702 smart meters in place across the entire electricity supply point infrastructure, 46,169 of which were installed in 2024. These meters are key to the energy transition, as they deliver a wide number of benefits for customers (consumption monitoring and optimisation, energy sharing, energy services, etc.), for market players (new products/services, billing based on actual consumption, etc.) and for the electricity grid operator (enhanced visibility of the network’s state of load, the impact of consumption behaviour, etc.).
The Region has tasked Sibelga with facilitating and coordinating the deployment of a public network of charging stations for electric vehicles, with the aim of installing 22,000 charging points available to the general public by 2035, 11,000 of which on-road. In 2024, 543 new charging points were brought into service at locations where the use of charging points is highest.
The number of participants in energy-sharing projects nearly tripled in a year, reaching 1,280 customers across 164 projects. The scheme enables local producers of green electricity to share their energy with one or more consumers. Energy-sharing within the same building is currently the most popular set-up (54% of participants), followed by energy communities made up of producers and consumers in the same neighbourhood (37%) and peer-to-peer sharing between neighbours or family members (9%).
In Brussels, 65,000 m² of solar panels have already been installed on public buildings thanks to the Solar & Roofing service of the RenoClick one-stop shop. Supported by the Brussels authorities and coordinated by Sibelga, RenoClick is helping local, regional and community authorities to renovate their buildings in an energy-efficient and sustainable way, with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2040.
Sibelga makes it a point of honour to serve its customers in a way that is easily accessible and inclusive. Residential customers not only get to call our Contact Center, they can also write in to us or visit us. Our service desk, which receives around 6,500 visits a year, enables people who are not comfortable contacting us online or by telephone to get information and support, which helps to narrow the digital divide. Moreover, Sibelga supplies energy to over 10,000 low-income households.
In 2024, Sibelga took a key step towards publishing its first CSRD report, scheduled for 2026. Following a double materiality assessment carried out in 2023, a roadmap has been drawn up to collect some 580 qualitative and quantitative data points. This preparatory work, carried out with all our departments, will enable us to meet the requirements of the European Sustainability Directive, while highlighting the projects that most clearly define our ESG commitment.
