Belgium is in the midst of one of the most significant mobility transitions in its history. By 2026, virtually all newly registered company cars will be electric — driven by tax reforms, climate targets, and the shift towards sustainable mobility.

Yet behind this progress lies a surprising paradox. Home charging — the most cost-effective, sustainable, and comfortable way to charge an electric company car — is being massively underused. And it's not due to technical limitations. It’s a financial and fiscal issue.

The Data Doesn’t Lie

MobilityPlus currently manages nearly 20,000 charging points in Belgium, half of which are located at employees’ homes. Our analysis reveals:

• 26% of those home chargers are used fewer than three times per month
• The average charge volume per home station dropped by over 15% in just three months
• More and more employees are turning to public charging — often significantly more expensive for employers

These numbers are alarming — and were recently reported in De Tijd, based on our internal data.

Why Do Employees Rarely Use Their Home Chargers?

We identified three key reasons:

1. Capacity Tariff Causes Peak Panic

Since January 1, 2023, part of the electricity bill in Flanders is calculated based on the highest 15-minute peak consumption within a month. A home charging session that overlaps with cooking, laundry, or heat pump use can dramatically increase this "capacity tariff." To avoid that risk, employees avoid charging at home altogether.

2. Flat-Rate CREG Reimbursements Create Inequality

A fiscal circular in effect since early 2025 allows home charging to be reimbursed at the actual cost until January 1, 2026. Pending tech solutions to automate this, the government also permits temporary flat-rate reimbursements, capped at the so-called “specific CREG tariff.”

Under this scheme, reimbursements remain part of the company car’s benefit in kind (BIK) and are not subject to additional taxation. As a result, many companies default to the CREG tariff — a uniform kWh rate — rather than reimbursing based on actual energy costs. But every employee has a different energy contract, charging time, and usage pattern.

These flat rates:

• Are based on data from 4 to 6 months ago
• Are set quarterly (not monthly)
• Often lag behind actual energy prices
• Vary by region

The result? Employees with cheaper contracts are overcompensated; others are underpaid — leading to frustration, mistrust, and perceived unfairness.

MobilityPlus compared the flat-rate CREG tariff to actual home charging costs under our management and observed significant deviations. That gap is expected to widen in Q2, as the CREG rate increasingly diverges from real electricity prices.

In short: the current system is neither fair nor future-proof.

More info: De Tijd, Saturday 05/04/2025

Why Load Balancing Is No Longer Enough — and the Capacity Tariff Now Drives Your EV Bill

Five years ago, load balancing was the go-to solution for home charging installations. Today, it no longer suffices. The introduction of the capacity tariff in 2023 changed the rules entirely.

Whereas load balancing aims to prevent technical overload, the capacity tariff is purely about one thing:
Your highest 15-minute peak of the month determines your grid cost.

That’s the crux of the problem:
Load balancing solves technical issues — but does not reduce your capacity tariff.

Load balancing is technically smart — but financially blind.

What Does That Cost? A Real Example.

Let’s say an employee has a single-phase 40A connection:

• Max capacity: 9.2 kW
• Before EV charger: monthly peak = 4 kW → €211.80/year
• After installation with AC charging at 11 kW: peak = 9.2 kW → €487.14/year
• Extra cost: €275.34/year

Now imagine a three-phase 3x400V 40A connection charging at 22 kW:

• Annual capacity tariff: €1,376.70
• Increase over previous situation: €1,164.90/year

‘Capping’? Good in Theory, Rare in Practice

Some chargers allow you to set a cap — a max charging speed (e.g., 4 kW). You can also limit the grid connection in software. But:

• Most employees don’t know this
• Installers rarely configure it correctly
• Users often prefer faster charging

Result: unnecessarily high peaks and hundreds of euros lost each year.

The Solution Exists. It’s Called MobilityPlus eXperience.

At MobilityPlus, we’ve not only analyzed the problem — we’ve tackled it head-on. And today, we’re proud to offer a solution that works.

A smart charging strategy and car policy — combined with real-time insights and automatic reimbursement — doesn’t just keep employees happy.
It saves employers up to €1,500 net per EV driver per year.