A three-story house with 13 rooms, high ceilings and Art Deco design elements, full of old stained-glass windows, woodcarvings and expressionist art. Bernadette Vandercammen, 67, lives here together with her husband, in the Belgian city of Eeklo. Their energy costs for the extensive home: just 170 euros per month, less than half of what they would have been paying under their old contract.

The fact that Europe's skyrocketing energy prices have not affected the retired couple isn't only because of the heavy, burgandy curtains hanging in the living room and their limited heating during the winter. "It's Ecopower," says Vandercammen with a smile. Her husband nods.

Along with 65,000 other households, the couple are members of Belgium's largest energy co-operative. The co-op produces and delivers green energy to its members at cost. When compared to the large corporations in the industry, Ecopower is just a dwarf, but it is a popular one. Last year, three times more people wanted to join the co-operative than could be supplied with electricity. At the moment, Ecopower is no longer accepting members.