Acm.nl uses cookies to analyze how the website is used, and to improve the user experience. Read more about cookies

ACM publishes proposal for time-of-use grid tariffs for households, which should free up capacity on the grid

Summary

  • With these new tariffs, a greater share of households’ energy costs will be based on consumption, and households will be stimulated to shift their consumption from peak hours to off-peak hours.
  • As a result, the grid will be utilized more evenly, thereby freeing up more capacity for connecting more households and businesses to the grid.
  • Interested parties have up to six weeks after publication to respond to these draft decisions. ACM will subsequently hand down a decision, so that the new tariffs can enter into force on January 1, 2029.

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has published a proposal for time-of-use (TOU) electricity tariffs that households and businesses with small grid connections pay for the transport of electricity. This proposal was drawn up following consultations with the trade association of the Dutch energy industry Energie-Nederland, the Dutch trade association of system operators Netbeheer Nederland, and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK). With these new tariffs, a greater share of households’ energy costs will be based on consumption, and households will be stimulated to shift their consumption from peak hours to off-peak hours, for example, charging their electric vehicles. As a result, the grid will be utilized more evenly, thereby freeing up more capacity for connecting more households and businesses to the grid. As fewer grid investments will be needed in the long term, this new tariff system will also keep the costs for all grid users under control.

According to system operators’ estimates, the new tariffs will result in a 10 percent reduction in peak load from households. This means that, for example, approximately 700,000 extra homes can be connected to the grid without any direct grid expansions.

Manon Leijten, Member of the Board of ACM, explains: “Approximately 60 percent of all households will benefit from the introduction of time-of-use and consumption-based tariffs. Households are incentivized to utilize the grid at times when it’s less busy, for example by charging their electric cars during the cheapest hours, and adding smart controls to their appliances and devices. This will free up capacity on the grid, for example, for new homes.”

Currently, all households pay the same amount for their grid connections, regardless of their consumption. A small apartment with a few lamps and a couple of appliances thus pays the same amount as a large house with a heat pump and an EV charging station. On the basis of the proposed tariffs, approximately a third of the transport tariff will remain a fixed amount. The remaining part will be variable, and will depend on consumption and the time of electricity use. Time slots with lower, normal, and higher tariffs will be introduced, which will differ in summer and winter periods. Households can lower their energy bills by consuming less electricity during peak hours. Also, more and more smart products will be introduced over the next several years, which will aid households in that effort. The proposal is solely about the transport tariffs (which is approximately a third of the total energy bill), and not about the supply rate or taxes.

Making your home more sustainable will continue to pay off

The new rules will work out favorably for over half of all households. Compared with the current rules, a small home in 2029 will pay approximately 100 to 200 euros per year less than the year prior. A household in a single-family home (or detached house) with a heat pump and an electric car that adjusts its consumption pattern to the new rules as much as possible will pay 300 to 450 euros per year more. A study commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate reveals that making your home more sustainable (for example, switching to a heat pump) will continue to pay off, even under the new rules. The average total energy bill of a household with a heat pump (fully electric or hybrid) will continue to be lower than that of household with a gas boiler, even when adding the initial costs.

Same rules for all grid users

Simultaneously with the proposal for new tariffs for households, ACM also publishes a draft decision for time-of-use tariffs for businesses with high-capacity connections to the distribution grids. Large businesses that are directly connected to the high-voltage grid have already been paying time-of-use tariffs for quite a while now.

Consultation on the draft decisions

Both the draft decision for volume-based and time-of-use tariffs for households and businesses with small grid connections as well as the draft decision for time-of-use tariffs for businesses with high-capacity connections to the distribution grids have been published on ACM’s website. Interested parties have up to six weeks after publication to respond to these draft decisions. ACM will subsequently hand down a decision by the end of this year, so that large-scale users on the distribution grids will start paying time-of-use tariffs starting January 1, 2028. The new rules for households and businesses with small grid connections will enter into force on January 1, 2029.

See also