The Limburg Parliament wants the provincial government in The Hague to sound the alarm to accelerate work on the law to decouple the price of heat from heat networks from that of gas.
The implementation of the law has been postponed to 2023.
In conversation
The provincial government must also enter into discussions with the initiators of heat networks in order to arrive at rates that are based on the cost price. A motion by the PvdA about this was passed with 26 against 17 votes. Besides the PvdA, CDA, GroenLinks, SP, D66, Party for the Animals, 50Plus and the Palmen faction voted in favour.
According to the person who submitted the motion, PvdA member of parliament Aleida Berghorst, it feels enormously unfair that people who do not use gas are the victims of the sharp rise in gas prices. Because they also have to pay a lot more. In Limburg, this concerns 5050 homes in Beesel, Heerlen, Maastricht, Roermond, Sittard-Geleen and Venlo that are connected to a heat network.
Durable
“These people have consciously chosen to live as sustainably as possible, but are now paying for something that they do not use. This undermines support for sustainability and the transition to sustainable energy. It is not an attractive prospect for anyone,” says Berghorst. . Her motion also points out that users of a heat network cannot switch to another supplier and are therefore obliged to accept the price increase.
‘You can’t solve that like that’
Deputy Maarten van Gaans (D66) stated that he understood the intent of the motion. But in his view, decoupling does not guarantee that the price of heat from heat networks will fall. “You can’t solve that this way. It does not by definition lead to a fair price,” said the deputy.
He did say, however, that he would already bring the issue to the attention of the cabinet and that he would certainly continue to do so in response to the motion. He will also talk to initiators and suppliers.
Unprofitable top
PVV, VVD, Forum for Democracy and SVL voted against the motion of PvdA member of parliament Berghorst. VVD member of parliament Leon Bastiaans argued that there is a high unprofitable top on the heat networks and that the price really does not depend solely on the gas price. “Are suppliers still interested in those heat networks if the price has to come down”, Bastiaans says.
Also read: ‘130,000 houses in Limburg from gas to heat networks’
He saw an opportunity in the cabinet’s climate fund to break through this dilemma. The PVV did not support the motion for any other reason. The party is also nationally fierce against the exploding gas price. “But that is partly caused by the high tax on gas that is used, for example, for the construction of heat networks. We must tackle the problem at the source and stop implementing the climate agreement,” said PVV member of state Bart Megens.