Note 3 Property, plant, equipment and right-of-use assets

Property, plant and equipment

Investments

Investments in property, plant and equipment during the financial year totalled €1,388 million (2022: €1,228 million). The investments relating to Kenter in 2023 (€23 million) have been recognised under assets held for sale.

Divestments

Divestments in 2022 and 2023 related to the decommissioning of buildings, network assets and other plant and equipment.

New consolidations

No new entities were added to the consolidated companies in 2023 and 2022.

Impairments

There were no impairments in 2023 or in 2022.

Reclassification to assets held for sale

There was no reclassification to assets held for sale in 2023. In 2022, this item related to the property, plant and equipment of Kenter and the Spaklerweg office.

In 2022, the reclassification related to the assets of Kenter and the Spaklerweg site in Amsterdam. For further disclosures with respect to assets held for sale, please refer to note 33.

CBL transactions

In the period from 1998 to 2000, subsidiaries of Alliander N.V. entered into cross-border lease (CBL) transactions for networks with US investors. The networks have been leased for a long period to US parties (head lease), which have in turn subleased the assets to the various Alliander subsidiaries (sublease). At the end of the sublease, there is the option of purchasing the rights of the US counterparty under the head lease, thus ending the transaction. The fees earned on the CBLs were recognised in the year in which the transaction in question was concluded. Two of the three still current CBLs were terminated prematurely in December 2021. Consequently, there are longer any gas or district heating networks with an American lease. The electricity network in the Randmeren region is the only one still held under a CBL. We exercised the option to purchase the rights for this, with the effect that the term ends at the start of 2025. The total net carrying amount at year-end 2023 was approximately €400 million (year-end 2022: €340 million). 

There are conditional and unconditional contractual rights and obligations relating to the remaining CBL transaction. At the end of 2023, a total of $664 million was held on deposit with several financial institutions or invested in securities in connection with the transaction (2022: $655 million).

Since no powers of disposal exist over the investments and associated liabilities, they are not regarded as assets and liabilities of Alliander and the respective amounts are not recognised in Alliander’s consolidated financial statements.

At year-end 2023, the net strip risk (the portion of the termination value – the possible compensation payable to the American counterparty in the event of premature termination of the transaction – that cannot be settled from the deposits and investments held for this purpose) for the current transaction was $25 million (2022: $32 million). The strip risk is affected to a great extent by market developments.

The sub-subleases to Vattenfall Warmte for the district heating networks in Duiven-Westervoort and Almere Stad belonging to Alliander N.V. were also terminated by operation of law in December 2021. It has been agreed with Vattenfall that the district heating networks will continue to be leased as far as possible on the basis of the agreements in the terminated sub-subleases to Vattenfall Warmte up to 1 December 2024. The total carrying amount of the subleased district heating networks and associated meters as at year-end 2023 was €107 million (2022: €98 million).

Right-of-use assets

The greatest part of these assets relates to business premises and lease vehicles. Ground rents and the rental of telecommunication masts and connections are also accounted for in this amount. The lease adjustments relate, for example, to expansions and indexations. The reclassification to ‘assets held for sale’ at year-end 2022 relates to Kenter.