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If your apartment is heated by district heating (stadsverwarming), your heat bill will likely go up by about 25% on 1 January 2027. That is the expectation of the ACM, the Dutch consumer and market authority, in its Energiemonitor of 16 October. Regular energy contracts are getting more expensive too: electricity contracts rose 5 to 8% in the past month, depending on the length of the contract.
District heating prices are capped by the ACM, and the cap follows the price of gas. The rule is that a home on a heat network should on average not pay more than a similar home heated with gas. The ACM measures fixed gas contract prices on three dates: 23 September, 23 October and 23 November 2026. After the first measurement, an average household using 25 GJ of heat a year is heading for an increase of about 25%. If gas prices keep rising, the increase gets bigger. About 700,000 Dutch households are on a heat network, and they cannot switch heat supplier.
For gas, fixed contracts rose almost 5% in a month and variable contracts about 1.5%. The wholesale gas price reached €86 per MWh, the highest since December 2022 and more than twice the level of a year ago (ACM).
What does this mean for you?
On district heating: in 2026 the maximum is €40.97 per GJ plus about €828 a year in fixed costs (fixed charge, meter and delivery set for heating plus hot water, ACM). With 25 GJ that comes to roughly €1,852 a year if your supplier charges the maximum. Add 25% and you pay about €460 more per year, close to €39 a month. Suppliers may stay below the cap, and the final 2027 maximum follows after the 23 November measurement. If your landlord arranges the heat supply, the cost may reach you through your service charges (servicekosten), so ask how it will be passed on.
On a fixed gas and electricity contract that ends soon: when it ends, you move to a variable rate automatically (ACM). Variable rates follow the market, and the market is high right now.
What can you do now?
- Check your rental contract or your heat supplier’s letter to see whether you are on district heating, and what you pay per GJ now.
- If your fixed energy contract ends in the coming months, read how switching your Dutch energy contract works before you roll onto a variable rate.
- Weigh a dynamic or fixed contract and compare supply prices in our guide to energy providers for expats.