In theory, this is how it should be done: The so-called market area manager, the company Trading Hub Europe (THE), allocate the 2.4 cents to the energy suppliers, who then pass on the costs to the end users. However, if a heat generator is still connected, it gets tricky. "Gas suppliers can pass on the surcharge to the heat generators, but they usually have no chance of passing it over to landlords and owners on the basis of the current contracts," says Riedel. However, energy law expert Riedel is skeptical that this succeeds: "I have great constitutional doubts that the legislator can intervene in existing civil law treaties." The consequence would then be that every company that generates heat from gas would remain seated at the costs and possibly have liquidity problems.