Centrica in talks with Belgians

British Gas group Centrica today said it was in exclusive talks to take control of Belgium’s second-largest power supplier.

Centrica has forged a cross-channel alliance with Gaz de France to buy a majority stake of Societe Publique d’Electricite (SPE), but stressed a deal had not yet been done.

Centrica did not reveal a price tag for the deal in a statement today, although a successful conclusion to talks with SPE would give it access to 10% of the Belgian market.

It is understood that SPE is keen to find a global partner to challenge the local dominance of bigger rival Electrabel, which can produce 76 terrawatts of electricity annually – 95% of total demand in Belgium.

The acquisition of SPE, which is currently 63% owned by a collection of local municipal authorities, would boost Centrica’s presence in Belgium.

It currently has a joint venture called Luminus with a string of local authorities and has 600,000 gas and 200,000 electricity customers in Flanders.