Heat customers with heat pumps are also entitled to compensation after interruptions

Heat suppliers must pay their customers compensation if their supply of heat is interrupted for a period of four hours or longer. This does not apply to situations where the interruption was announced at least three days in advance. Heat consumers that have heat pumps had questions about the applicability of the compensation rules. In a binding line of conduct, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has now provided certainty.

The said line of conduct was triggered by a request for enforcement filed with ACM. In the line of conduct, ACM explains that, even if the customer uses a heat pump, the heat supplier has to pay compensation. In case of interruptions that last more than four hours and which had not been announced three days in advance, customers are entitled to compensation.

Customers do not have to do anything to get compensation

The compensation for heat is similar to those for electricity and gas. Heat customers do not have to do anything to get the compensation. Heat suppliers will automatically settle the compensation with each customer’s bill within six months. Customers experiencing interruptions in their supply of heat of 4 to 8 hours are entitled to 35 euros, with an additional 20 euros for each continuous 4-hour period after the initial period.

Many questions about heat outage compensations

ConsuWijzer, ACM’s consumer information portal, receives many questions about compensation from heat suppliers in general: 34 questions in 2016, 50 questions in 2017 and 100 questions in 2018.