Brugel approves the amendment of the Brussels gas technical regulation

The board of directors of Brugel, the Brussels regulatory body, approved via decision 414 of October 20, 2026, the proposal from Sibelga amending the technical regulation for the management of the gas distribution network in the Brussels-Capital Region and access thereto. The text was published in the Belgian Official Gazette on November 12, 2026, under reference C − 2026/008182, on page 60068, and comes into force on January 1, 2027. The decision is based on Article 9 of the ordinance of April 1, 2004, relating to the organization of the gas market in the Brussels-Capital Region.

The technical regulation is the document that establishes, in practice, the rules of the game between the distribution network operator, the suppliers — referred to as “access holders” — and the connected users. The approved version is published in full in the Belgian Official Gazette starting from page 60069 as well as on the Brugel website, as required by Article 3 of the decision. It is signed, on behalf of the board of directors of Brugel, by K. Welch, president, and E. Mannes, director.

Seven codes combined into a single document

The regulation is now structured into seven autonomous titles:

• a planning and operation code (Title II);
• a connection code (Title III);
• an access code (Title IV);
• a measurement and metering code (Title V);
• a data code (Title VI);
• a collaboration code (Title VII).

Three annexes complete the set: the data exchanged between the network user and the operator, a connection diagram, and the model access contract.

Biomethane enters the distribution network

The text devotes an entire chapter to the injection of biomethane into the distribution network. The operator may set the corresponding connection conditions, provided they are objective and non-discriminatory, and the injection must comply with Synergrid requirements, specifically technical requirement G8/01. The biomethane producer enters into a specific connection contract and bears responsibility for the composition and calorific value of the injected gas, as well as, where applicable, all or part of the network adaptation costs.

What this changes for suppliers and households

Several operational rules are specified. A connection is considered “standard” when the supply pressure is 21 mbar, the capacity is less than or equal to 25 m³(n) per hour, the length on private property is a maximum of 10 meters, and the distance to the distribution pipeline is a maximum of 15 meters. The cost of a network extension is deemed prohibitive beyond 40 euros per installed kilowatt when the distance exceeds 25 meters. The operator must be on-site within two hours following a call for an unplanned outage and ensures twenty-four-hour availability.

On the market side, the access holder must possess a supply license issued by Brugel, a balancing contract with at least one user of the transmission network, and financial guarantees. The operator verifies the completeness of an access request within five days, decides within the following five days, and the applicant has twenty days to return the signed contract. Furthermore, a specific regime governs gas consumed without proper measurement or without a contract: notification of tampering, estimation via the 60th or 70th percentiles, billing within fourteen months, and a recovery procedure suspended for three months.

A transitional regime is provided: connection agreements concluded before the entry into force remain applicable as long as they do not contradict the new text and have not been replaced by a connection contract. In contrast, the clauses of the annexed model access contract substitute, upon publication, for those of the current access contracts.

For Brussels residents connected to gas, the stakes are concrete: intervention times, billing methods for unmeasured gas, supplier solvency requirements, and network access rules change their legal basis on January 1, 2027, with a now unified framework for consumption and for biomethane injection.

Source: Moniteur belge, November 12, 2026, decision 414 of October 20, 2026 approving the proposal to modify the technical regulation for the management of the gas distribution network in the Brussels-Capital Region and access thereto, ref. C − 2026/008182, p. 60068.