Grid tariff proposal for 2029: what it means for your heat pump

In early May 2026, Netbeheer Nederland filed a code amendment proposal with regulator ACM on behalf of all grid operators. It concerns the transport tariffs for small consumers: everyone with a connection up to 3x80 amps, so virtually every household. Those tariffs are the part of your energy bill that goes to the grid operator through your supplier, separate from what you pay for the power itself.

Today you pay a fixed grid charge based on your connection. It does not matter how much power you use or when. Under the proposal, two thirds of that charge becomes volume- and time-dependent; one third stays linked to your connection capacity. There will be four price levels and separate summer and winter rates: quiet moments cost less, busy moments cost more.

The most expensive block falls in the winter half-year, October through March, between 4 pm and 11 pm. Exactly the hours when the Netherlands comes home, cooks and turns up the heating.

The grid is increasingly full at peak moments, while there is room to spare at quiet times. By making grid use pricier during busy hours and cheaper during quiet ones, the grid operators hope households will spread their consumption. That uses the existing grid better, creates room for new connections and limits how much reinforcement is needed.

The volume component should also divide the costs more fairly: those who draw little from the grid will pay less than those who draw a lot. According to the grid operators, about two thirds of households come out relatively better. The bill shifts to households with high consumption, and that includes heat pumps.

Consultancy Common Futures calculated the proposal's impact for trade association Vereniging Warmtepompen, and that report is the source of the headlines. In the most expensive winter block, the grid charge works out at 21 to 22 cents per kilowatt-hour in their calculation, nearly doubling the variable cost of power in those hours.

A heat pump runs precisely at those moments: cold winter evenings are exactly when your home needs heat. According to the calculation, the energy bill of an average household with an all-electric heat pump rises by about 505 euros per year from 2029, of which 355 euros come from the new time- and volume-dependent tariffs. For a hybrid heat pump it is 422 euros, of which 260 from the new tariffs. For comparison: a household with a gas boiler pays 135 euros per year extra in the same calculation.

The trade association mainly objects to the long seven-hour expensive block, because a heat pump cannot fully avoid those hours. That is what the ACM consultation will still cover.

Important context: the same calculation concludes that a heat pump's cost advantage over a modern gas boiler shrinks by a good twenty percent but remains substantial. Heating with a heat pump stays cheaper than burning gas, also under these tariffs. It is no reason to hold off on sustainability, but it is a reason to manage your consumption more smartly.

A home battery fits time-of-use grid tariffs well: you charge it at cheap moments and use that power during the expensive evening block. That way you will avoid not only high dynamic power prices but also the high grid charge.

To be fair: for a heat pump, a battery does not solve it entirely. In the calculation, a 5 kilowatt-hour battery reduces the annual extra costs of an all-electric heat pump by about 163 euros. Heat demand on a winter evening is simply large, and part of it keeps coming from the grid during the expensive hours.

The benefit does stack, though. The same battery already earns from the gap between cheap and expensive hours with a dynamic energy contract, and from 2029 the avoided grid charge comes on top. The full trade-off is in our comparison with or without a home battery.

There is no rush. But if you are making choices now for the next ten to fifteen years, you can factor this in already:

1. 1.Keep going with sustainability. The proposal makes a heat pump somewhat less advantageous, not disadvantageous. Staying on gas costs more per year than the new tariffs take away.
2. 2.Lower your heat demand. Every kilowatt-hour you do not need also never falls in the expensive block. Good insulation is the biggest lever; read how it relates to your heat pump at insulation and heat pumps.
3. 3.Learn to shift your consumption. The washing machine, dishwasher and EV charger can easily run outside 4 pm to 11 pm, and many devices handle that automatically. How to approach it is covered in smart home energy management.
4. 4.Get a home battery calculated. With a dynamic contract it already earns today; the new grid tariffs strengthen the business case from 2029.

This is a proposal, not a decision. The ACM is assessing it and expects to publish a draft decision around this summer, which everyone can respond to during a consultation. The regulator aims to take a final decision before the end of 2026; the intended start date is 1 January 2029.

The exact tariffs per price level are therefore not set yet, and the amounts above are calculations based on the proposal as it stands. The main principle, paying by moment and volume, is broadly backed by grid operators, the ministry and the ACM. We are following the process and will write an update once the draft decision is out.