Dutch heat supplier DEEM NL bankrupt, InWarmte designated as emergency supplier
On November 5, 2024, Dutch heat supplier DEEM NL B.V. (also known as DeeneD) was declared bankrupt by the District Court of Zeeland-West-Brabant. When a heat supplier is declared bankrupt, it is required to continue the supply of heat. If a company is not able to do so, the Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth (KGG) will designate an emergency supplier. In this case, the Ministry of KGG designated InWarmte as the emergency supplier. InWarmte wishes to take over the supply of heat, but, in that context, is dependent on the cooperation of DEEM NL (or on the receiver or trustee thereof). The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) sees to it that DEEM NL and InWarmte do their utmost to make sure that residents will continue to receive heat.
DEEM NL is a small heat supplier with approximately 300 connections on a small number of different heat networks. In order to prevent residents from being left out in the cold, ACM contacted the distribution system operators and a water company to ensure that the supply of electricity and natural gas that is necessary for the heat is not cut off.
On two heat networks in the western Dutch town of IJmuiden (which falls under the municipality of Velsen), there are currently problems with the supply of heat to approximately 100 residents. ACM and the Ministry of KGG are in close contact with emergency supplier InWarmte as well as with DEEM NL’s receiver in order to ensure that the problems for these residents are resolved as quickly as possible. In some individual cases, the owner of these homes (housing corporation Woningbedrijf Velsen) has offered electric heaters as a temporary solution.
DEEM NL’s bankruptcy marks the first time that a heat supplier has gone bankrupt and that an emergency supplier needed to be designated. Unlike with suppliers of electricity or natural gas, there are no provisions in the current Dutch Heat Act that ensure that heat consumers are not left out in the cold if their heat suppliers go bankrupt. ACM is in discussion with the Ministry of KGG about the new Dutch Collective Heat Act (in Dutch: Wet collectieve warmte or WCW), in which consumer protection will be safeguarded better.