Every year, the Dutch Consumers and Markets Authority (ACM) calculates the maximum rates that heat network providers can charge their customers. Heat suppliers are not allowed to make too much profit from the regulator, as consumers cannot switch.
The maximum tariff for heating in 2023 established at 90.91 euros per gigajoule. Significantly higher than the current rate of up to 48.60 euros per gigajoule. For comparison: 1 gigajoule corresponds to 31.6 m3 of natural gas, which is used to heat most Dutch homes.
The increase is not entirely surprising. The price for heating is partly connected at the price of gas. The idea behind this is that households using mains heating do not pay much more than households which are otherwise heated.
Price limit
There is still that much-discussed compensation for next year. Throughout 2023, a ceiling on the price of gas, electricity and district heating will apply for households and other small consumers. The price and consumption ceilings for users of the heat network have been set at 47.38 euros per gigajoule up to a consumption of 37 gigajoules. According to an ACM spokesperson, approximately 80% of households use no more than 37 gigajoules.
ACM also asks suppliers to increase their rates only when necessary. At the end of November, Vattenfall already announced that its tariff would increase to 76.45 euros per gigajoule next year, an increase of 94%.
The furniture made announced this afternoon that the maximum price will take effect on January 1st. The effect has long been delayed due to fears of excessive profits by energy suppliers. They could raise their prices and thus benefit from the subsidy because the government will still pay the difference.
To avoid this, it has now been decided that the profit margin of energy suppliers cannot exceed the average margin of recent years.
Link criticism
Due to the current energy crisis, criticism of the link with the price of gas is growing. This is because rates for people with a heat network are rising rapidly in line with higher gas prices, while the heat itself is often generated at a much lower price.
