ENECO was founded on 1 January 1995. The companies which came together to form ENECO each contributed their own particular expertise. The most important aspect in this regard was energy distribution. The name ENECO was thought up in 1994. It stood for “ENErgy and COmmunications”, which referred to the business of two of the merging parties, Energiebedrijf Rotterdam and Energiebedrijf Dordrecht, energy and the operation of communication cable networks.
"ENECO" was never used as an acronym; rather, it was used from the start as a proper noun. With the benefit of hindsight, that was a fortunate choice, because it soon became apparent that telecommunications and cable TV did not combine well with the energy activities. In 2000, cable operator UPC took over all telecommunications operations. From that point on, ENECO was dedicated to supplying energy in the form of gas, electricity, heat and, to a lesser extent, cooling.
2000: how ENECO became ENECO Energie
In July 2000, ENECO merged with six regional energy companies. The name of the new entity was ENECO. The name says exactly what the company does for its customers: it supplies energy. Another two energy companies were added to ENECO under a later takeover. In 2003, REMU, which supplied the Utrecht area, was bought and integrated into ENECO Energie.
2008: new corporate style and transition to Eneco
In 2008 the energy company introduced a sustainable strategy and a corresponding new corporate style. The name of the company was changed from ENECO Energie to Eneco.