Students going to court to demand energy bill support

Students in at least four cities are filing lawsuits against their municipality for support with the increasing energy bill. They claim the municipalities are discriminating against them because they exclude students from the 1,300 euros energy allowance the Cabinet made available for low-income households, EenVandaag reports.

In the summer, the court in Arnhem ruled that excluding students from the energy allowance simply because they’re students is, in fact, discrimination. The court ruled in a case filed by a student against the municipality of Nijmegen, so the ruling only applies to Nijmegen.

Therefore, student union LSVb and trade union FNV are preparing lawsuits against four other municipalities that house many students - Utrecht, Groningen, Haarlem, and Diemen. “According to the [Arnhem] judge, the purpose of the law is that people in vulnerable income groups are supported. Students are part of that, so you cannot just exclude them,” LSVb chairman Joram van Velzen said to the program.

The municipalities are dismayed by the lawsuits, according to EenVandaag. They also want to pay the energy allowance to students, but they can’t afford to because the government hasn’t given them the necessary money.

According to Minister Carola Schouten for Poverty Policy, the education executive agency DUO does not have the needed information to implement the energy allowance for students who need it. According to her, the alternative is compensating all students, and that would be too expensive at 200 million euros.

The LSVb is suing municipalities because they are responsible for implementing the energy allowance, but the student union believes the ultimate solution will have to come from the national government. “In the end, we don’t think the solution lies with the municipality,” Van Velzen said. “But we want to increase the pressure on the Ministry by winning lawsuits against municipalities. A national solution is needed.”