Case C-199/25, Sibelgas and Others: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Hof van beroep te Brussel (Belgium) lodged on 11 March 2025 – Sibelgas CVBA and Others v De Vlaamse Nutsregulator, formerly known as Vlaamse Regulator van de Elektriciteits-en Gasmarkt (VREG)
Date: 2025-03-11
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Flanders (Belgium), electrical energy, electricity supply, energy grid, price of energy








C_202503396EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/3396


30.6.2025






Request for a preliminary ruling from the Hof van beroep te Brussel (Belgium) lodged on 11 March 2025 – Sibelgas CVBA and Others v De Vlaamse Nutsregulator, formerly known as Vlaamse Regulator van de Elektriciteits-en Gasmarkt (VREG)


(Case C-199/25, Sibelgas and Others)

(C/2025/3396)
Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Hof van beroep te Brussel

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicants: Sibelgas, Intercommunale Vereniging voor de Energiedistributie in de Kempen en het Antwerpse (IVEKA), Intercommunale Maatschappij voor Energievoorziening in West- en Oost-Vlaanderen (IMEWO), Intercommunale Maatschappij voor Gas en Elektriciteit van het Westen (Gaselwest), Iverlek, Intercommunale Vereniging voor Energieleveringen in Midden-Vlaanderen (Intergem), Fluvius Antwerpen, Fluvius West, Fluvius Limburg, Provinciale Brabantse energiemaatschappij (P.B.E.)

Defendant: De Vlaamse Nutsregulator, formerly known as Vlaamse Regulator van de Elektriciteits-en Gasmarkt (VREG)

Questions referred







1.


Is Article 18(1), second sentence, of Regulation (EU)2019/943 (1) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the internal market in electricity (recast), to be interpreted as precluding a national rule such as Article 4.1.32, § 1, point 10 of the Vlaamse decreet van 8 mei 2009 houdende algemene bepalingen betreffende het energiebeleid (Flemish Decree of 8 May 2009 laying down general provisions on energy policy) which provides that the costs of the public service obligations imposed by or pursuant to the Decree, which are not financed by taxes, duties, subsidies, contributions and levies, are to be included in the tariffs?










2.


Is Article 18(1), first sentence, of Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the internal market in electricity (recast), to be interpreted as precluding the devising by a regulatory authority of a tariff methodology for the distribution of electricity that, with regard to a significant component of the costs of network operators subject to revenue regulation, uses a historical cost trend method (which determines revenues on the basis of past costs), per se, or is the application of this method to be supported by verification of the level of the historical costs with regard to their efficiency?










3.


If, on the basis of the answers to the questions set out above, the Brussels Court of Appeal were to come to the conclusion that the VREG is in breach of one or more of the obligations arising from the provisions cited in those questions, would it be able to temporarily maintain their effects in order to avoid legal uncertainty?






(1)  
            OJ 2019, L 158, p. 54.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/3396/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)