Consumers are more aware of their energy bills and of potential savings

Almost half of all Dutch consumers go through their annual energy bills, and check them for accuracy. This is one of the conclusions of the 2017 Energy Monitor that the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) published today. ACM helps these consumers by tackling unclear bills sent by energy providers. Consumers are entitled to receiving energy bills that they can understand and check themselves.

Becoming more and more aware of the savings that switching generates

Consumers have become more and more aware of the savings that can be achieved when switching energy providers. Considering the trends and developments in the energy supply market, ACM, too, sees opportunities for consumers to realize big savings by switching providers. For example, a consumer that, on September 1, 2017, signed a permanent contract with variable rates, the so-called sleeper rate, could have saved up to EUR 452 if they had switched to the cheapest one-year contract with fixed rates. These so-called sleepers are not the only ones who could save a lot from switching: switching products within a single product group (for example within the category of one-year fixed-rate contracts) could also lead to tremendous savings.

Number of consumers that have never switched is shrinking

The number of consumers that have never switched continues to decrease. Only 29% of all Dutch consumers have never switched. Last year, that percentage was at 31%. This year, approximately 1.2 million households switched providers. That is about the same number as last year. Consumers that have switched once are more likely to switch again in subsequent years. In order to compare different offers from energy providers, consumers more and more often use price-comparison websites.