News item | 09-11-2022 | 12:15
The cabinet announced the Energy Costs Allowance (TEK) scheme in October. Energy-intensive SMEs receive compensation of 50% of the increase in energy costs above a fixed threshold price up to a maximum of 160,000 euros. Elaborating the TEK in more detail leads to a modified condition. The amount of energy costs must now correspond to at least 7% of the turnover. Minister Micky Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate) has informed the House of Representatives about this.
The government has previously indicated that it still needs time to make a feasible arrangement. Therefore, and due to EU state aid rules and the necessary approval by the European Commission, the opening of the TEK may last until the second quarter of 2023. The TEK will then apply retroactively to entrepreneurs for the period November 2022 to December 2023 .
Target group TEK remains the same, lower percentage of energy intensity
On the basis of the more detailed elaboration that has already been announced, the government has now established that it is not right to leave the energy tax – a fixed part of the energy costs that does not rise to the same extent as the consumption costs – a variable component instead of a fixed component. of the calculation used to determine the energy intensity in the TEK. That does not change the target group of the TEK: several tens of thousands of smaller SMEs. However, it does mean that the percentage of energy intensity that an entrepreneur must meet is reduced from 12.5% to 7%.
Some of the energy-intensive SMEs are already in acute problems and still have the winter of 2022/2023 to go. That is why it was previously decided to treat individual entrepreneurs who submit a request for tax deferral before opening the TEK. Financial service providers, such as banks, have also been found willing to deal with requests for liquidity such as advances more quickly and more flexibly. The cabinet has also made an extra 500 million euros available for SMEs in sustainability financing and has opened the BMKB Green scheme.
Minimum consumption and threshold price
The TEK compensation is for companies with a maximum of 250 employees that are registered in the Dutch Trade Register. To be eligible, in addition to the energy intensity requirement (the level of energy costs corresponds to at least 7% of the turnover), they must have an annual consumption that is higher than 5,000 cubic meters of gas or 50,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. The threshold price has been set at €1.19 per cubic meter of gas and €0.35 per kilowatt hour of electricity.
Information for entrepreneurs via RVO and Chamber of Commerce
RVO will implement the TEK scheme on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. That is why a ‘keep me informed page’ has been opened for entrepreneurs on the website rvo.nl/tek, where SMEs receive information about the set-up and opening of the TEK after registration.
For information and personal advice, entrepreneurs can also contact the Energy Desk of the Chamber of Commerce at kvk.nl/energieloket. In addition to providing practical advice on business operations, the Chamber of Commerce refers specifically to the subsidies and schemes at the RVO executive that allow companies to become more sustainable or save.