Last year, together with the energy companies, an adjustment of the system was organized in a very short time so that the energy price ceiling could be applied, but now that has to change, says Van Nieuwenhuizen. “We think it’s much better if it’s targeted,” he says. “Now it’s actually for everyone, but it would be better – according to European regulations – if it’s only allowed if it’s for people who really need it.”
However, Van Nieuwenhuizen understands that the measure has been implemented. “Because of the emergency and to get through the winter now it’s just for everyone, otherwise it would become too complex”, he continues. “But the government now has almost a year to prepare, so we assume that targeted support can now be provided.”
Lot of work
Van Nieuwenhuizen points out that the establishment and introduction of the price cap required some effort. “It was a huge job,” he says. ‘There are 63 vendors, all with their own ICT systems, making it difficult to find something that everyone can implement. We’re glad we were able to do that to compensate people for a big part. But again, we have said from the beginning that we are in favor of targeted support so that it reaches the people and businesses that need it.’
Compensation
The government has also generously rewarded the energy sector for efforts by energy companies to break through the price ceiling, says Van Nieuwenhuizen. “That hasn’t been done for the specific adaptation of the systems,” he continues. “But we got the advances. This is compensation from the government that we continue one-on-one. And there’s also been an amount available for the extra people needed by the call centers and so on, because as we saw at the beginning of the year: it generates a lot of people’s questions.’