Belgium’s Lavish Energy Use Sheds Light on More Than Just Its Roads
- 6 years ago
Belgium’s Lavish Energy Use Sheds Light on More Than Just Its Roads
“The nuclear power lobby in Belgium not only dominates the energy market,” said Mr. De Keuleneer, the economist, “it also
dominates Belgium’s complex political system, exploiting conflict-of-interest situations on all government levels.”
That system has proved profitable for Electrabel.
“It also makes politics in Belgium quite a profitable profession.”
Mr. Reekmans recently published a book exposing hundreds of obscure government
structures involved in what he calls “ethically dubious decision-making.”
He estimates that about 10,000 remunerated seats on the governing boards of public utility
companies — not only in the energy sector — are occupied by local politicians.
The profits of electricity distribution companies are paid out “in dividends to the local municipalities
that own shares in them, and in salaries and stipends to the local politicians who sit on their oversight boards,” he explained.
Anne-Sophie Hugé, a spokeswoman for Electrabel, denied in an interview
that the company still maintained ties to state-owned distributor companies, since it sold its shares in those companies last year.
But critics doubt this and say the phenomenon sheds light not only on Belgium’s roads
but also on a mutually profitable relationship among its politicians, electricity distributors and main energy supplier, Electrabel.
“The nuclear power lobby in Belgium not only dominates the energy market,” said Mr. De Keuleneer, the economist, “it also
dominates Belgium’s complex political system, exploiting conflict-of-interest situations on all government levels.”
That system has proved profitable for Electrabel.
“It also makes politics in Belgium quite a profitable profession.”
Mr. Reekmans recently published a book exposing hundreds of obscure government
structures involved in what he calls “ethically dubious decision-making.”
He estimates that about 10,000 remunerated seats on the governing boards of public utility
companies — not only in the energy sector — are occupied by local politicians.
The profits of electricity distribution companies are paid out “in dividends to the local municipalities
that own shares in them, and in salaries and stipends to the local politicians who sit on their oversight boards,” he explained.
Anne-Sophie Hugé, a spokeswoman for Electrabel, denied in an interview
that the company still maintained ties to state-owned distributor companies, since it sold its shares in those companies last year.
But critics doubt this and say the phenomenon sheds light not only on Belgium’s roads
but also on a mutually profitable relationship among its politicians, electricity distributors and main energy supplier, Electrabel.