With a ‘margin test’ and audit by accountants, the cabinet wants to prevent energy suppliers from making ‘excess profits’ on energy aid to households. This was announced by energy minister Rob Jetten (D66) on Friday. The energy suppliers will receive billions of euros from the cabinet next year to help households with their energy bills.
Thanks to the price cap, consumers will pay a maximum price for part of their gas and electricity consumption from the beginning of next year. There are major concerns in the House of Representatives that energy suppliers will make extra profit due to the price ceiling on the energy bill. In fact, the ceiling is a subsidy for households paid through energy suppliers.
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If a company makes more profit next year than in previous years, the suppliers will have to repay part of the subsidy afterwards, Minister Jetten told journalists after the Council of Ministers on Friday. “The euros that these companies will receive from the government for the price cap, they really have to be passed on one-on-one to people at home,” said Jetten. The margin is determined for each energy supplier on the basis of the profit margin over the past few years. Accountants will check afterwards whether a supplier has made more profit than allowed. Jetten: “With this scheme we prevent companies from earning more than they did in recent years.”
The cabinet is still working on an allowance for people who do not have an individual energy connection, but a joint (block) connection with others, for example in an apartment building. It should be ready before the end of the year.