Users of individual-building and district heating to pay EUR 58 more in 2018

In 2018, consumers and businesses that get their heat from individual-building heating or district heating will pay on average EUR 58 (including VAT) more than in 2017. On average, they will pay EUR 1,151 in 2018. This is the result of the maximum tariffs for heat that the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has set.

Heat tariffs linked to natural-gas price

The increase is caused by the link between the tariffs for individual-building heating and district heating and the tariffs for gas heating, which has been laid down in the Dutch Heat Act. This means that, if the costs for gas heating increase or decrease, so will the tariffs for individual-building heating and district heating.

In 2018, the fixed costs for gas heating increase, on average, by EUR 10 (including VAT) per year. These costs include transmission, supply, and connections.

The variable costs for gas heating in 2018 increase, on average, by EUR 48 (including VAT) per year. Half of these costs consist of gas tariffs, and the other half of energy taxes.

Heat tariffs

Pursuant to the Dutch Heat Act, ACM sets the maximum heat tariffs because heat suppliers have a monopoly. For 2018, ACM has set three tariffs (all tariffs include Dutch VAT):

1. The maximum price for supplying heat. This tariff is composed of a fixed amount of EUR 309.52 with a variable tariff of EUR 24.05 per gigajoule.
2. The tariff for metering. This tariff has been set at EUR 25.36 for 2018.
3. The connection fee. For 2018, this tariff has been set at EUR 1,037.78 for all new connections up to 25 meters from an existing heat network. For connections longer than 25 meters, an additional tariff of EUR 33.77 per meter is added.