The Council of State advises on the Collective Heat Act (Wcw) that a mandatory public majority interest is neither necessary nor proportional to the goals of the law: accelerating the heat transition and more public control. Such a majority interest will actually delay the transition. This was predicted two years ago in a study commissioned by the minister. For this reason, Energie-Nederland has always indicated that it considers a mandatory public majority interest to be an unwise choice.

The Council of State indicates that it is not clear why a mandatory public majority interest was chosen, that this is at odds with European law and that it is also not clear enough how the bill contributes to socially acceptable heating rates. Energie-Nederland recognizes this criticism and is curious how the minister will deal with it.

Energie-Nederland believes that municipalities should be able to decide for themselves whether they want a majority interest or not. Heat companies have a lot of knowledge and know-how in the heat market; it is more effective to join hands together.