Energy network charges to rise 19% next year, regulator says

Dutch households will pay an average of €141 more next year for electricity and gas networks, a rise of 19%, according to a preliminary forecast from the consumer and markets regulator ACM.

The increase applies to the fixed network charges (netbeheerkosten) that appear on every energy bill and cannot be reduced by switching supplier, and is on top of the price of gas and electricity itself, which has already risen sharply amid the war in the Middle East.

The electricity component of the charge rises annually by €89 and the gas component by €52, or around €12 a month in total. Network charges will make up about 28% of the average household energy bill in 2027.

The rise varies by network operator. Liander, which covers Amsterdam, most of Noord-Holland and Gelderland, is raising its electricity tariffs by 23%. Stedin, which serves Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, and Enexis, which covers the south and east, are both raising theirs by 17%.

€235 billion rebuild
Network operators say they need to invest around €235 billion in the electricity grid over the next 15 years to connect new housing, offshore wind farms and electrified industry, and there are still around 15,000 businesses, homes, schools and other buildings waiting for a connection.

“This is a lot of money, but the alternative is more expensive,” Liander finance director Walter Bien told NU.nl. Operators put the cost of grid congestion to the economy at €10 billion to €40 billion a year.

The jump in 2027 is partly the result of a new five-year regulatory period which allows operators to pass on investment costs more quickly and to recover cost overruns from the previous five years.

Climate minister Stientje van Veldhoven said in a written response that she understood households found the rise worrying, but that fossil fuels had to be phased out. Energy remains affordable for most people “on average”, she said, and an emergency fund for people unable to pay their energy bills will be available again this winter.

The ACM will set the final tariffs for 2027 in December. From 2029 the Netherlands is expected to move to a new tariff system in which heavy users pay more and the time of day electricity is used also counts.