ACM: fixed energy contracts are making a comeback
More than half of Dutch households once again have contracts with fixed prices for the delivery of natural gas and electricity. This has been revealed by the Monitor on the consumer energy market of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). In December 2023, the number of households with fixed contracts went up by approximately 300,000. In the months prior to that, that number had gone up by approximately 200,000 per month. Many energy suppliers have been offering fixed contracts again since June 2023 in part because of new rules regarding early-termination fees.
ACM’s monitor also reveals that contracts with fixed prices continue to be more-affordable than contracts with variable prices. Prices of variable contracts went down nearly 1.5 percent in January 2024. With regard to fixed contracts, prices for natural gas went down approximately 5.5 percent, and prices for electricity went down 7 to 10 percent, depending on the length of the contract. Households can also opt for dynamic energy contracts. With these types of contracts, the price is directly linked to the daily or hourly prices on the wholesale market. This means you immediately benefit from price drops on the market, but the price can also go up the next day. These types of contracts are therefore suitable for households that are willing to take the risk of rapid price changes and that are able to plan their natural gas and electricity consumption.
Warning against exceptionally expensive fixed contracts
Even though prices of fixed contracts have, on average, significantly dropped, there are still significant price differences between suppliers. ACM’s monitor has revealed that one supplier offers fixed contracts at prices that are 30% (approximately) above the average price. These are contracts (one-year fixed) that are offered by Dutch energy company Hollandse Energie Maatschappij (HEM) through telemarketing calls.
Suppliers differentiate more often between customers with and without solar panels
Over the past month, the number of suppliers that, when offering contracts, differentiate (in different ways) between customers with and without solar panels has increased further. With four suppliers, customers with solar panels pay different prices for the delivery of electricity. With five other suppliers, customers with solar panels pay a surcharge. The amount of this surcharge depends on the volume of electricity generated by solar panels that is fed back to the grid. There are twelve suppliers that offer their contracts of two years or longer only to households without solar panels. Six other suppliers offer contracts of two years or longer to customers with and without solar panels.
It is not prohibited for suppliers to differentiate between customers with and without solar panels. Suppliers say that they differentiate between households with and without solar panels, because the costs of customers with solar panels are higher than those of comparable customers without solar panels. ACM is currently studying the magnitude of these additional costs, and expects to publish the results of that study by the end of this quarter.