Eneco refunds group of Rotterdam heat customers

Eneco will pay refunds to current and former residents of around 4900 customer addresses that are connected to Rotterdam’s heating grid. A discount on the rates was not applied correctly with them. As a result, those customers overpaid an average of around 200 euros per year. Eneco regrets this unfortunate mistake, and will refund those customers for the difference. This concerns approximately 10% of the customers connected to Eneco's Rotterdam heating network.

In 2010, Eneco signed a ‘concession’ agreement with the Municipality of Rotterdam to supply heat to five of Rotterdam’s central districts: Kralingen-Crooswijk, Delfshaven, parts of Feijenoord, Noord and Rotterdam Centrum (not including Katendrecht, Lloydkwartier or Mullerpier). Under that agreement, Eneco would discount the rates that it charged to residents of those districts who were newly connected to Eneco’s heating grid. The discount took effect from 2013.

Customers in those five districts whose homes were already connected to the heating grid before the concession are not entitled to the discount, nor are customers connected to parts of Eneco’s heating grid outside those districts. The discount similarly does not apply to customers who draw heat and cold from a thermal storage unit. Nor does the arrangement cover Eneco customers in Rotterdam with an electricity and/or gas contract, but not a heat connection.

The customers who are eligible for the refund will be informed personally this week, and may expect their money around mid-December. How much each customer will be refunded varies per address, depending on when the home was connected to the heating grid, how long the customer’s contract lasted and how much heat they used. The discounts to which the customers are entitled for the period until the end of 2024 will be paid out in December. Customers who previously lived in the concession area but have since moved house will also be contacted, if Eneco was legally allowed to keep their details on file.  

A separate category includes around 400 addresses outside the concession area where, for example, a discount was agreed with a housing corporation. Those clients will also be informed personally this week. Residents of the ‘Aardgasvrij’ (no-gas) project area in the Bospolder-Tussendijken district have their own specific discount arrangement; however, that discount has been applied correctly. 

Update to the system  
Starting 1 January 2025, all clients will be charged at the correct rates, and Eneco has updated its accounting and recordkeeping system to prevent this from happening again in the future. A slight possibility remains that subsequent checks will reveal further locations during the period ahead. If so, Eneco will of course act immediately to take appropriate steps.