Heat tariffs to increase in 2019 because of taxes and link with gas price
In 2019, consumers and businesses that get their heat from individual-building heating or district heating will pay, on average, 164 euro more than in 2018. This is the result of the maximum tariffs for heat that the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has set.
The increase of the tariffs is the result of higher energy taxes. In addition, the link with the tariffs for gas heating also leads to an increase in the tariffs for individual-building heating and district heating. This link has been laid down in the Dutch Heat Act. This means that, if the costs for gas heating increase, so will the tariffs for individual-building heating and district heating.
Higher energy taxes and the link with tariffs for gas heating
On average, users will pay 1,315 euro in 2019, compared with an average of 1,151 euro in 2018.
The heat tariff is composed of fixed and variable costs. The increase in the fixed costs is caused by the increase of the transmission tariff, supply, and consumption costs of the gas connection. In 2019, the fixed costs for natural gas will increase, on average, by 9 euro per year including VAT.
The increase in the variable costs is caused by a substantial increase in energy taxes, storage of sustainable energy, and the gas price. In 2019, the variable costs for natural gas will increase, on average, by 155 euro per year including VAT. Half of these costs consists of gas tariffs, and the other half of energy taxes.
Heat tariffs
Pursuant to the Dutch Heat Act, ACM sets the maximum heat tariffs that suppliers are allowed to charge for supplying heat, because heat suppliers have a monopoly. For 2019, ACM has set the following tariffs (all tariffs include Dutch VAT):
The maximum price for supplying heat is composed of a fixed amount of 318,95 euro with a variable tariff of 28,47 euro per gigajoule.
The 2019 tariff for metering has been set at 25,89 euro.
ACM has set the one-off connection fee at 1.038,89 eurofor new connections up to 25 meters. For connections longer than 25 meters, an additional tariff of 33,91 euro per meter is added.