Electricity sharing · Energy communities · Belgium
Sharing electricity within your energy community
One roof isn’t the limit.
A whole community shares.
In Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders, Amber Energy helps members of your energy community see what they share and receive, to make the most of local production together.
Account and app free during testing; you order the dongle afterwards in the app. With or without solar panels · Setup help
Where to start?
Follow my home
Your consumption live, with or without panels. When you create your account, choose ‘Just me’.
Create my account →Already sharing?
Whoever manages the sharing chooses ‘Set up a sharing’ when creating an account and invites the other members, who choose ‘I was invited’. Your agreement and billing stay the same.
Create my account →Want to share?
Looking for neighbours? Tell us where you live, and in Brussels your street too (optional).
Find neighbours →Available in Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders
Your dongle for €20, with help setting it up.
A dongle plugs into the P1 port of your smart meter and shows your electricity in real time, at home and in the sharing, on a simple dashboard. We arrange delivery and help you with the installation.
App access is free during testing. The dongle is a one-time purchase of €20. If the app ever becomes paid, nothing will be charged without your agreement.
In Brussels the P1 port is open by default; in Wallonia and Flanders, first ask your grid operator to open it.
To get started at home, create your account, verify your email address and log in. Choose ‘Just me’ to request your dongle.
Questions? Email us at contact@amber-energy.be.
Why an app?
With dozens of members across several sites, nobody knows at any given moment how much renewable energy the community is sharing — and asking everyone is not a solution.
Amber Energy shows it live to every member: the shared energy available now and what they draw from the grid. Each member follows their estimated share of the shared electricity, month after month.
See where every watt goes.
Amber Energy estimates how shared electricity is allocated using dongle readings. Each member can follow their share in the app. The official volumes used for billing are set by Sibelga, so the final statement can differ slightly from what you see day to day.
Live
What you use and where it comes from: your panels, your neighbours or the provider. Right now. Production needs a compatible inverter.
Your day
When the sun was there, and when you could make the most of it.
History
Day by day, month by month, year by year: where your electricity came from.
Managing the sharing
For whoever manages the sharing: invite members, see how the energy is split, follow the group’s figures.
Energy communities: the Brussels framework
Amber Energy is available in all three regions. The regulatory explanations below concern Brussels. For procedures in the other regions, consult CWaPE in Wallonia or Fluvius in Flanders.
In Brussels, an energy community has legal personality and can organise one or more sharings. Rules depend on its type; only renewable and local communities are restricted to renewable sources.
Participation is free and voluntary. Membership and control requirements depend on the type of community. Consult BRUGEL’s common rules and rules for each type.
How does it work in Brussels?
Brussels has a single grid operator (Sibelga) and a single regulator (Brugel). A community follows the same measured path as any sharing, with the legal entity on top:
- The community is set up as a legal entity with statutes and open membership.
- It applies to Brugel for an authorisation to operate as an energy community.
- Each member has a Sibelga smart meter; offtake and injection are measured every quarter-hour.
- Sibelga establishes the shared volumes. The representative bills participants for the sharing; their supplier bills electricity outside the sharing.
Amber Energy helps you follow the sharing day to day. See Sibelga’s billing guidance for the official process.
- Sibelga smart meters for each participant
- Agreement between participants (split and price)
- Quarter-hour distribution method
- Registration of the sharing with Sibelga
- Supplier kept for the rest of your consumption
Amber Energy doesn’t replace Sibelga, Brugel or your supplier: the app makes sharing clearer, more transparent and easier to follow.
When does a community make sense?
Two neighbours don’t need a community — a simple sharing agreement is enough. A community earns its extra structure when the project grows: several buildings, a mix of producers and pure consumers, shared storage, or an ambition that should outlast any single household. It gives the project legal footing, open membership, and governance the participants control.
The transparency members expect
With dozens of members and several sites, "who got what?" is the question that can stall a community. Amber Energy answers it continuously — every member sees their own share of the community’s renewable energy, every month, on their phone. You can view your share and history in the app.
The three recognised forms in Brussels
Brussels recognises three forms of energy sharing. See the overview.
Between neighbours
Peer-to-peer sharing: a house with panels shares its surplus with another household in the street or neighbourhood.
Within the same building
Panels on the building’s roof supply the apartments. Participants organise the sharing within their building.
The energy community
The legal entity for larger projects — citizens, SMEs, public bodies — with an authorisation issued by Brugel. You’re reading about this one.
Frequently asked questions
How is an energy community different from sharing between neighbours?
Peer-to-peer sharing and same-building sharing are simple agreements between a handful of participants. An energy community is a legal entity — it can span several sites, mix producers and pure consumers, own shared storage, and take in new members over time. Bigger scope, more structure.
Who can join an energy community?
In Brussels, participation is free and voluntary. Membership and control requirements depend on the type of community and its statutes.
Do I need an authorisation from Brugel?
Yes. In Brussels an energy community operates under an authorisation issued by Brugel, the regional regulator.
Does each member keep their supplier?
Yes. Each member keeps a supplier for electricity outside the sharing. In Brussels, the sharing representative bills shared electricity separately, using the volumes established by Sibelga.
Which monitoring tools exist for an energy community in Brussels?
Each tool has its own role, and not all of them do monitoring. Sibelga establishes the official shared volumes, for each quarter-hour, which are used for billing. Management platforms help the representative of the sharing issue invoices and manage members. Amber Energy is a real-time monitoring tool: with dongles on the smart meters, every member follows their electricity live and sees their estimated share of the shared electricity. These tools complement each other.
Your community’s renewable energy, shared transparently.
Looking for neighbours? Tell us where you live — in Brussels, your street too, optional.