Through its fuel supplier Dats 24, Colruyt Group now also supplies electricity to private customers. The power it supplies is 100% green and produced in Belgium.
No lowest price guarantee
The Belgium-based company claims to be the first retailer to supply sustainable energy to its customers. According to Raf Flebus of Dats 24, it is a logical choice: the group produces 2.7 times more electricity than it needs through its own wind turbines and solar installations. “It is, therefore, logical that we want to incorporate the private customer and families into a sustainable energy transition by using that surplus,” he says in Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws.
In practice, this means that Colruyt Group can supply energy to no less than 132,000 families in addition to its own consumption. The question remaining is whether the retailer also wants to guarantee the lowest price on the energy market? “Dats 24 applies low prices for each customer in its petrol stations, but does not guarantee the lowest price like its colleagues from the Colruyt stores”, Flebus responds.
According to Kristof De Paepe from price comparison service Mijnenergie.be, the price remains the main driver for people to change energy suppliers. “In reality, we see that customers mainly only choose a green energy supplier when they offer the same price as their competitors. If Dats 24 truly wants to take market share, it will have to offer competitive rates,” he concludes.
