A majority of shares in Dutch energy group Eneco are up for sale, now that Dordrecht has joined Rotterdam and The Hague in saying it wants to sell.

Together, the three cities own 57.29% of Eneco shares. Dordrecht said on Tuesday it does not consider it to be in the public interest to hold onto its shares.

Some 50 other local authorities which own shares in the company, often just fractions of one percent, are currently considering whether or not to sell their stakes. They have agreed to reach a decision by October 31, when the formal sales process can begin.

Eight years ago, the two other main energy firms Nuon and Essent were also sold off, each for around €9bn. Nuon is now owned by Swedish state owned firm Vattenfall while Essent is the hands of German utilities group RWE.

Eneco is not large in terms of power generation but does supply energy to some 3.5 million Dutch households.