Regulator finds draft time-based grid tariff rules workable
Draft rules on what energy bills must show about volume- and time-dependent transport tariffs can be implemented and enforced, the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) says.
The ACM carried out an implementation and enforcement assessment (uitvoerbaarheids- en handhaafbaarheidstoets) of draft articles of the Energieregeling, the energy regulation, and the Regeling Gegevensuitwisseling Energiewet, the data exchange regulation under the Energy Act. It concluded that the draft articles can be implemented and enforced.
The articles are needed to make such tariffs possible. They govern how grid operators pass data to energy suppliers for invoicing, and what information about transport tariffs must appear on the energy bill.
The ACM is also considering a code amendment proposal from the grid operators' association Netbeheer Nederland. It would introduce volume- and time-dependent transport tariffs for small connections.
The ACM asks the Minister of Climate and Green Growth to investigate whether, within existing laws and regulations, suppliers can receive more detailed information about their customers' grid use than the articles provide. That would let a supplier answer customer questions about actual consumption and transport tariffs.
What this means for you
- A fixed tariff (vast tarief) keeps the price per kWh or m3 the same for a set period, for example 1 or 3 years, and ending it early can cost a cancellation fee (opzegvergoeding).
- After a fixed contract ends, it becomes a variable tariff (variabel tarief), and the supplier (energieleverancier) must tell you the new rates at least 30 days ahead.
- With a variable tariff the supplier may change the price, often at set moments such as every 3 months, with at least 1 month's notice, and there is no cancellation fee.
- A dynamic tariff (dynamisch tarief) follows wholesale market prices, so electricity prices change every quarter hour, hour or day and gas prices change daily, and a model contract (modelcontract) allows a feed-back charge (terugleverkosten) for solar panels.
Source: ACM ConsuWijzer: vaste en variabele leveringskosten, read 29 October 2026
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ACM (Autoriteit Consument en Markt)
The Authority for Consumers and Markets is the Dutch independent regulator that supervises competition, consumer protection and regulated sectors such as energy, telecoms and transport. In energy, it approves and checks the tariffs and terms that grid operators charge for using the electricity and gas networks. It matters because its decisions determine how network costs are charged to households and businesses.
Energieregeling
The Energieregeling is a ministerial regulation under the Dutch Energy Act (Energiewet) that sets out detailed rules for the energy sector, such as requirements for grid connections, metering and the conditions that apply to energy transport. Because it fills in the framework of the law with operational detail, it determines how the energy market and its networks work in practice.
Netbeheer Nederland
Netbeheer Nederland is the association of the Dutch electricity and gas grid operators, the companies that own and manage the distribution networks. It represents these network companies towards government and regulators, and it submits proposals for changes to the rules and codes that govern how the networks are run and how their services are priced.