ACM: households to pay 25 euros per year more in 2026 in network tariffs for natural gas and electricity
Summary
- The costs for households and businesses with connections to the distribution networks for gas and electricity go up approximately 3.38%.
- System operators need to make large investments to solve problems on the congested grid.
- ACM is working on a new method for setting tariffs, which will take effect after 2026.
In 2026, households and businesses with connections to the distribution networks (regional networks) for natural gas and electricity are expected to pay 3.38% more for the transport of electricity and natural gas. For an average household, this increase amounts to approximately 25 euros per year (including VAT). Large businesses that are directly connected to the (extra) high-voltage grid of Dutch transmission system operator TenneT are expected to pay approximately 10 percent to 12 percent less. These are some of the conclusions of an initial projection by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM).
Each year, ACM sets the tariffs for system operators. When setting those tariffs, ACM ensures that system operators earn sufficient revenues for maintenance and investments, but also that the tariffs are not higher than necessary. In that process, the basic principle is that grid users pay for the costs they create. In this way, the total costs are distributed fairly over all users. In October, ACM will publish the system operators’ tariff proposals, and will publish the definitive maximum tariffs in November.
Tariff increases over the next few years
The decrease in TenneT’s tariff is an incidental decrease, which is caused by, among other factors, increased grid usage as a result of which the allowed revenues are distributed over higher volumes. Grid tariffs are expected to increase over the next few years. Households and businesses are increasingly switching from fossil fuels to electricity generated from sustainable sources. This switch is important for achieving the national climate goals. This transition is taking place so fast that many households and businesses at the moment are already waiting to get new or upgraded network connections. System operators need to make large investments for upgrading their grids as well as for clearing this backlog.
A previous ACM study revealed that, over the next 25 years, the costs for all grid users will go up from approximately 7 billion euros to 18 to 25 billion euros per year. This means that the transport costs for electricity for an average household will go up to 600 to 800 euros per year in 2050. As households and businesses consume less and less natural gas, the total costs for maintaining and adjusting the gas network need to be distributed over fewer and fewer users. As a result, the network tariffs for natural gas will go up over the next few years, too.
Manon Leijten, Member of the Board of ACM, explains: “The increase in network tariffs over the next few years is a direct consequence of the investments that are needed for making the grids and natural-gas networks future-ready. As ACM, we seek to strike a fair balance: system operators receive sufficient funds for making the energy transition possible, while costs continue to be distributed in a fair manner and aren’t higher than necessary.”
New method for setting the tariffs
In so-called method decisions, ACM establishes how it will set the system operators’ tariffs. In order to meet the energy transition’s challenges better, ACM is developing a new regulatory method that takes into account the changing energy market as well as the work that is needed for the energy transition. ACM expects to publish the draft decision for this new method as early as this month. In 2026, ACM will subsequently finalize the method decisions, meaning that ACM will set maximum tariffs for 2027 and onwards in accordance with this new methodology.