Gas region surcharges: what’s the current position?

GasTerra is often asked about gas region surcharges. We know that suppliers to small-scale gas users (Dutch consumers) still retain the regional classifications that were once established and applied by GasTerra. However, this is no longer the case. Nowadays, every supplier in the Netherlands may choose to work with particular regions and apply particular surcharges, or not, but tariffs applied by GasTerra are not being passed on as this is no longer applicable.

We have listed customers' most frequently asked questions below; you can also visit the website ACM (Autoriteit Consument & Markt) for clarification on tariffs.

Was GasTerra responsible for defining the gas regions in the past?
Yes, the gas regions date from the time when Gasunie and GasTerra divided (2005).Under the new structure, GasTerra had to pay a transport tariff to Gasunie.Every GOS (gas delivery station) in the Netherlands had its own tariff, there were around 1000 of these.In the interests of efficiency, we decided to combine these gas delivery stations into groups and to create 10 tariff classes. Broadly speaking, this meant that the further away from Groningen you lived, the more you paid for gas transmission.

Since when did GasTerra stop working with regional surcharges?
GasTerra has not been charging regional surcharges since 2011.

Could it be the case that energy suppliers continue to maintain a system that has been abandoned by GasTerra?
Yes, that could be the case; energy suppliers in the market are at liberty to decide how they pass on to consumers the costs they incur.Having said that, we would find it strange if they used the term 'regional surcharge', for this no longer exists.

We hope that the explanations set out above have cleared up any ambiguities regarding gas regions, but if you should have any further questions you can always reach us at [e-mail]