On May 17, the roundtable discussion ‘Out of Debt sooner’ by the Social Affairs and Employment committee is set to take place. Energie-Nederland has prepared a response for this occasion, drawing attention to possible bottlenecks, particularly the realization of sustainable recovery after debt repayment.

Energie-Nederland – and its member energy suppliers – are closely involved in preventing problematic debt and energy poverty. As well as offering payment arrangements to more than one hundred thousand customers, introducing social debt collection, and direct involvement in the Amicable Debt Assistance and Early Identification covenants with the NVVK, we work with the government in the task force on tackling energy poverty, among others, and we implement the price cap scheme.

Energie-Nederland members are aware of the role they play in households’ financial situations and are eager to contribute to creating peace of mind, clarity, and recovery for those involved. Energy suppliers are both a major creditor and a supplier of a primary necessity of life, even in a situation of problematic debt.

Energie-Nederland applauds the private members’ bill ‘Out of debt sooner’. It is good to see how this paper focuses on improving the situation of people in financial difficulty, while at the same time providing clarity, acceleration, and simplification.

However, it is equally important to simultaneously invest in the structural improvement of assistance so that there is structural focus on sustainable recovery. Energie-Nederland calls for the direct involvement of creditors as primary stakeholders and clients in processes around improving the quality of debt assistance.

Read our full response here.