With new rules for system operators, ACM stimulates the energy transition as well as investments for combating grid congestion

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) invites all stakeholders to submit their opinions on a new method for setting the tariff revenues of system operators. The new method stimulates investments that are necessary for solving the problems on the congested grid, and it helps accelerate the energy transition. At the same time, with the new method, ACM will be able to assess the costs and operations of system operators better.

Manon Leijten, Member of the Board of ACM, comments: “Over the next few years, system operators need to be firing on all cylinders in order to solve the problems on the congested grid. This calls for sufficient financial latitude for necessary investments as well as for innovations for better utilizing existing grids. At the same time, less and less natural gas is being consumed, yet the costs for maintenance and safety on the gas network remain. That is why it’s important that those costs are distributed fairly. Ultimately, households and businesses pay all costs via their network tariffs. With this new method, ACM ensures that system operators do their job as efficiently as possible and that tariffs don’t unnecessarily go up.”

The transition from fossil fuels to electricity generated from sustainable sources is important for achieving climate goals, and it makes the Netherlands less dependent on natural-gas imports from other countries. As a result, households and businesses will be better protected against sudden price increases, which may occur if the supply of natural gas is restricted due to geopolitical tensions or other disruptions. The transition is taking place so fast that, in many locations, the grid is at capacity, and many households and businesses need to wait a long time for new or upgraded connections. This results in high costs for society, which are estimated to be as high as 40 billion euros per year. In order to deal with the problems on the grid, system operators need to invest billions of euros in grid expansions over the next several years. With the new method, ACM offers more certainty that operators are able to recoup their costs of these investments. Since businesses and households are switching to sustainable energy sources, less and less natural gas is consumed, too, whereas system operators continue to invest in maintenance and safety on the natural-gas network. These costs need to be distributed over a smaller number of users, as a result of which the rates for natural-gas users go up.

Certainty for system operators

With the revised regulatory method, ACM wishes to remove barriers to investments. With the new method, ACM sets the revenues of system operators on the basis of their actual, efficient costs. This means that system operators estimate their costs in advance, after which ACM sets the tariffs on the basis of that estimate. Any differences between the estimated and actual costs will be settled at a later time. In this way, system operators have the certainty that they are able to recoup their costs, without households and businesses having to pay unnecessary costs.

Stricter oversight and more transparency

At the same time, ACM introduces stricter oversight over the costs and performances of system operators. ACM will perform more-targeted checks on the efficiency of incurred costs. Unnecessary costs cannot be incorporated into the tariffs. In addition, ACM expects more transparency from system operators about their costs, efficiency, and the causes behind tariff fluctuations. All of this will ensure that households and businesses only pay for necessary costs, while the energy transition is accelerated.

2027 tariffs to be set in accordance with the new method

In method decisions, ACM sets for each system operator how the network tariffs are to be calculated. This forms the basis for the tariffs that system operators are allowed to charge. Each regulatory period, ACM revises these method decisions to order to ensure that they closely tie in with current developments on the energy market as well as with the advancing energy transition. In that way, the tariffs continue to be fair and future-ready, while helping create a sustainable and efficient energy supply. For example, when drawing up the previous method decisions in 2022, ACM also already took into account investments in the energy transition. ACM has published the draft decisions for the new method on its website, and invites all stakeholders to submit their opinions no later than November 2. ACM will subsequently finalize the new method in February 2026, so that ACM will be able to set the tariffs for the year 2027 on the basis of this new methodology.