The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has announced adjustments to the accounting rules (RAR) that heat suppliers must follow. This decision comes after an investigation into the financial returns of five heat suppliers revealed that they were calculating their returns in inconsistent ways, complicating ACM's regulatory efforts.

Under the Dutch Heat Act, households connected to heat networks are protected by maximum rates set by ACM, ensuring they do not pay more than an average household using a gas boiler. To monitor compliance with these rates, ACM requests annual financial return reports from heat suppliers, which are published in its Financial-return Monitor. Since 2023, ACM has also been empowered to investigate individual heat suppliers.

The recent investigation focused on the 2023 financial returns of five heat suppliers, specifically examining their returns from household deliveries. Notably, the financial returns for large-scale users are not regulated. The investigation found that four of the five suppliers had submitted incorrect financial data prior to the investigation, leading to enforcement actions if inaccuracies persist in future submissions. The corrected returns reported were lower than initially submitted.

Despite the discrepancies, ACM's investigation did not indicate that heat suppliers were generating unreasonable returns. However, the suppliers had significant flexibility in how they allocated their financial returns between households and large-scale users, leading to varied reporting practices that lacked proper justification. The choice of allocation formula significantly impacted the reported returns.

To address these issues, ACM has tightened the accounting rules, limiting the options available to suppliers for cost allocation. This change aims to create a more uniform and comparable picture of financial returns. Heat suppliers will be required to adhere to these new rules for the 2024 Financial-return Monitor, and ACM plans to conduct another investigation into their financial returns later this year.