The House of Representatives comes up with a proposal to quickly make heating networks cheaper

• Ewoud Kieviet

  Political reporter

Things are not going well with the connection of houses and buildings to heating networks, a sustainable way of heating. Housing associations are increasingly stopping or threatening to connect their homes to heating networks because energy companies have increased prices.

Minister Jetten for Climate and Energy announced last week that he would reduce the price by ten euros per next year with an emergency law, but the House of Representatives does not think that goes far enough. That is why the Christian Union is today presenting a proposal in a debate on heating networks to accelerate the decoupling of the price for heat from the gas price.

Currently, the price that users of heating networks pay is still based on the gas price. If the price of gas rises, the price of the heating network will also increase. Minister Jetten is working on a law to calculate a private price for heat, based on the costs of the heating network.

But that takes MP Grinwis of the Christian Union too long. “The longer we wait to provide clarity about the price for heat, the smaller the role of heating networks becomes. So let’s provide clarity about that price today.”

That is why Grinwis wants to regulate the ‘decoupling of the heat price from the gas price’ in the heating law that the House of Representatives is discussing today. He receives support for this from GroenLinks-PvdA and the VVD. “That disconnect is necessary, because people on a heating network pay too much for their energy at the moment,” says MP Erkens of the VVD.

The question is how long this decoupling will really provide relief for heat network users. “If we amend this law now, you will notice the first effects early next year, but some parts will only have an effect at the end of next year,” Erkens thinks. “That’s why we have to speed up.”

MP Kröger of GroenLinks-PvdA agrees. “We must ensure that heating networks really become an attractive alternative and we will also have to arrange this from The Hague.” The aim is for heating networks to eventually heat a third of Dutch households by 2050.

MPs believe that users are now paying too much for the heating network:

MPs: People with a heating network now pay too much