Concerns
In a study (2022) commissioned by the minister, PwC had already concluded that the intention for mandatory public majority ownership would delay the heat transition. The Council of State also expressed “concerns about public majority ownership” in a heat company in its advice (April 2024) on the proposed law. Conclusions The main conclusions from PwC’s analysis are as follows: Public interests in the heat sector can be effectively safeguarded through legislation and regulation. There is a risk that the requirement for public majority ownership will distort competition, leading to higher costs and lower reliability of heat. Mandatory public majority ownership is expected to result in a decline in private investments, thereby delaying the rollout of new collective heating systems. While public ownership may lead to lower financing costs, this overlooks the fact that risks (and thus costs) will often be passed on to the taxpayer.

Alternative
Energie-Nederland therefore proposes a public minority stake of between twenty and forty percent. “This way, we don’t lose money and time by excluding experienced parties, we give municipalities more flexibility, and we also comply with EU law,” says Van Nieuwenhuizen. The law could then mandate a minimum public shareholding of, for example, 25%. Any higher shareholding is also possible in practice, such as a public minority stake of 40% or 47%; or a public majority stake of, for instance, 50% + 1 share, 82%, or 100%.

Solid Wcw
Energie-Nederland emphasizes that all heat companies in its network, both public and private, are eager to accelerate the rollout of collective heating systems. Van Nieuwenhuizen: “Energie-Nederland wants to contribute to a solid Wcw to achieve the goals of the heat transition as quickly as possible. Since these goals are actually at risk of fading with the proposed mandatory public majority ownership, Energie-Nederland considers it important to propose alternatives and discuss them.”

PwC report
See the PwC report here.

A&O Shearman See the A&O report here.