ACM tightens rules so that heat suppliers report more clearly about their financial returns

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) will adjust the accounting rules (RAR) that heat suppliers must comply with. The new accounting rules are to ensure that suppliers calculate in the same way what the financial returns have been of their delivery of heat to consumers. An ACM investigation into the financial returns of five heat suppliers was the reason for this tightening of the rules. The investigation had revealed that heat suppliers calculated their returns in different ways. That makes ACM’s regulation of heat suppliers more difficult.

Households that are connected to heat networks enjoy protection through the maximum rates that ACM sets each year under the Dutch Heat Act. The Dutch Heat Act seeks to ensure that heat consumers do not pay more than an average household with a gas boiler. In order to monitor whether or not the financial returns of heat suppliers are not too high despite these maximum rates, ACM each year asks heat suppliers what their financial returns are. ACM publishes the results in its Financial-return Monitor. Since 2023, ACM can also investigate individual heat suppliers.

Results of ACM investigation

ACM has investigated the 2023 financial returns of five heat suppliers. In that investigation, ACM looked into the returns of heat delivery to households. The financial returns of delivery to large-scale users are not regulated. In practice, heat networks are almost always used by households as well as by large-scale users.

The investigated heat suppliers have fully cooperated with the investigation, and have provided access to their administrative systems. Of the five investigated suppliers, four of them submitted adjusted financial data following the announcement of the investigation. These four suppliers had apparently previously submitted incorrect data to ACM for the Financial-return Monitor. ACM confronted these suppliers with its findings, and will take enforcement action if suppliers submit incorrect data again this year. In all cases, the corrected returns were lower.

The reported returns and ACM’s investigation conducted under the current rules do not show that heat suppliers have made unreasonable returns. Suppliers can allocate their financial returns of heat delivery to households and large-scale users in different ways, for example on the basis of the number of connections, the connection capacity, or the volume of supplied heat. The current rules offer suppliers much leeway for determining how they allocate the costs. Suppliers thus make different choices in practice in that regard, and cannot always properly justify why those choices are appropriate. The formula that a supplier chooses has great consequences for the calculated return.

Tightened rules for suppliers

In order to make sure that the costs are allocated in a similar, comparable manner, and that ACM is better able to investigate the returns of heat suppliers in the future, ACM has tightened the accounting rules (RAR) this year. The choices that suppliers have will be curtailed, as a result of which a more unequivocal picture of the returns is created. For the 2024 Financial-return Monitor, heat suppliers must report on the basis of these tightened rules. ACM will subsequently carry out another investigation into the heat suppliers’ financial returns this year.

See also

18-07-2024 ACM to conduct additional investigation into the financial returns of several heat suppliers
18-07-2024 2023 Financial-returns Monitor (in Dutch)