Note 25 Other operating expenses

Other operating expenses amounted to €304 million in 2024 and were therefore €55 million more than in 2023 (€249 million). Among other things, the rise was due to the increase in the provision for removing gas connections (see also note 16) and the higher costs for a multi-year project to future-proof our IT systems. 

The ‘other’ category includes fees paid to auditors, notaries and consultants of €44 million (2023: €53 million). In 2023, costs were incurred as part of the sales process and carve-out of Kenter, which took place on 31 January 2024. 

The amount recognised for rent and leases in 2024 includes €4 million in short-term leases (2023: €4 million) and €0.2 million in low-value leases (2023: €0.2 million). The remainder of the costs concerns the service costs under the lease contracts.

Auditors’ fees

The following fee for the auditor (2024: PwC; 2023: Deloitte) is disclosed in the income statement:

The above fees relate to the activities carried out by the accountancy firms and external auditors in connection with the parent company and the companies included in the consolidation, as referred to in Section 1, subsection 1, of the Audit Firms Supervision Act (WTA), and the fees charged by the entire network of which the accountancy firm is part.

These fees relate to the audit of the financial statements for 2024, irrespective of whether the work was performed during the financial year itself.

Summary of services provided
Our auditor, PwC Accountants N.V. (2023: Deloitte N.V.), during the period to which our financial statements relate, supplied the following services to Alliander and its subsidiaries in addition to the audit of the financial statements: