Energy company FENOR files for bankruptcy, ACM revokes supply licenses

Energy company FENOR has filed for bankruptcy, and has therefore asked the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) to revoke its supply licenses for natural gas and electricity. Since FENOR is no longer able to supply energy to approximately 36,000 customers (consumers and small business customers) in a secure manner, ACM will revoke FENOR’s licenses. FENOR’s customers will continue to receive energy, and will automatically be informed by their new energy supplier.

FENOR ran into financial problems because of the high energy prices. If FENOR is declared bankrupt, the receiver will have until 30 December 2021 to find another energy supplier that is prepared to take over FENOR’s customers. If this fails, these customers will be redistributed among other energy suppliers before 13 January 2022.

During the transitional period, which lasts until 13 January 2022 at the latest, these consumers and small business customers will be unable to switch suppliers themselves. Customers will automatically be informed by their new energy supplier about their energy contracts. They will subsequently be able to decide whether or not to stay with that supplier or to switch suppliers anyway. Their new supplier can impose a notice period of no more than 30 days.

The revocation of the licenses will thus not have any consequences for the supply of natural gas and electricity, but it can have financial consequences, for example for customers that FENOR still owes money. Since FENOR has filed for bankruptcy, customers that have paid a high monthly payment in advance may not receive all of this money (or even nothing at all).

In addition to the roughly 36,000 consumers and small business customers (customers with electricity connections of 3x80A or more, or a natural-gas connection with a capacity larger than 40m3/hr) to which FENOR supplies energy, it also supplies energy to large-scale users. Supplying energy to large-scale users does not fall under ACM’s licensing system. The above-mentioned procedure therefore does not apply to large-scale users. The transmission system operators (GTS for natural gas and TenneT for electricity) ensure through a similar procedure that supply to these large-scale users will not be interrupted.