Many companies can apply for help with their energy bills from March 21

Business owners can apply for a benefit allowance starting on March 21 to help defray their high energy costs. The temporary form of compensation is for small and medium-sized companies that use a large amount of energy and faced increased gas and electricity prices. However, the European Commission has yet to approve the scheme.

Applications can be submitted retroactively from November 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023. The TEK scheme was already announced by the Cabinet at the end of last year, but details still needed to be worked out.

The subsidy will only be provided if permission is granted by the European Commission, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. “As a result, in the event it is rejected by the European Commission, no amounts received need to be reclaimed from the [small and midsized] companies,” the notice about the plan said in Tuesday’s Staatscourant, the official government publication where new laws are formally announced.

In order to provide information to entrepreneurs who are waiting for the scheme to take effect, the details of the scheme were published in the Government Gazette, said the ministry spokesperson. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) must also have sufficient time to prepare for processing the applications.

Small and medium-sized enterprises whose energy costs amount to at least 7 percent of turnover may be eligible for compensation of up to 160,000 euros. Associations and foundations that meet the conditions for the TEK scheme can also submit an application. The Ministry of Economic Affairs expects that “several tens of thousands of companies and organizations” will be eligible for compensation.

Entrepreneurs who qualify for the TEK scheme receive a maximum of 50 percent of the difference between the energy cap price fixed by the government and a maximum price. The threshold price has been set at 1.19 euros per cubic meter for gas and 0.35 euros per kWh for electricity. The maximum price for gas has been set at 3.19 euros per cubic meter for the purpose of the scheme, and at 0.95 euros per kWh of electricity.