Fixing Your Gas Price Just Got €900 More Expensive

Expect to see an email from your energy provider soon. It will say your fixed gas contract is ending or show a new variable rate. Either way, you’ll be asked to make a difficult decision about your energy contract.

On Wednesday, the price of wholesale gas in Europe climbed to over €100 per megawatt hour (MWh) for the first time since the 2022 energy crisis. The Consumentenbond, the Dutch consumer association, said on Thursday it has been flooded with questions about what to do: fix your price, float your price, or go dynamic?

How Did Fixing Your Price Become the Most Expensive Option?

According to energy collective United Consumers, in a calculation for NOS, a household that uses 1,000 cubic meters of gas a year would have paid €2,115 last October to fix its gas price for one year. This October it’s €3,037. That’s an additional €922 to keep the same house warm.

A three-year fixed-price contract went up from €2,209 to €2,827, and a variable contract went up from €2,364 to €2,514. The safest contract to go with last year ended up being the most expensive.

Gas prices in the wholesale market are the real reason for these changes. In February, before the war with Iran, gas prices were below €30 per MWh. Now the wholesale price sits above €100, and a new fixed offer reflects that. Comparison sites are reporting a new fixed gas contract above €2 per cubic meter for the first time.

Read Also: Terminating a Fixed Energy Contract in the Netherlands Early? Watch Out for the Price Tag!

Three Contracts, Three Ways to Pay for the Same Gas

Around 54% of Dutch households have a fixed contract, 37% have a variable contract and 8% have a dynamic contract. Each contract type feels a price shock at a different speed.

Fixed contracts usually last 1 to 3 years, variable contracts usually change 4 times a year, and dynamic contracts follow the daily changes in the market.

The ACM counts around 3.7 million households on a variable or dynamic contract, and they have already experienced this week’s increase. Harm, who lives in a detached house in De Meern, told NOS his dynamic gas price is already over €2 per cubic meter and was about €1.10 last year.

The Potter in Venray Who Quit Gas and Still Pays More

Marian Stevens runs a pottery studio in Venray and invested to make it more sustainable. She went completely off gas. Stevens was shocked to find out her new contract this month increased her bill anyway.

The increase in electricity prices is tied to gas prices. Most electricity in the Netherlands is wind- and solar-powered; however, a little over a third is still gas-powered. When gas prices rise, electricity prices also rise. The ACM has seen new electricity offers increase by 5 to 8% in just one month.

The cheapest kilowatt hour is still the one you don’t use. Insulation, a better energy label and the ISDE subsidy all cut the bill, whichever contract you hold, which welocate details in its webinar on how a greener home saves and makes you money.

The Fee That Determines If You Can Switch Later

Before you lock in for three years, find out what it costs to get out. As of 1 June 2023, a supplier can’t charge you more than the loss it suffers when you leave. A market drop can mean a big fee. Variable or dynamic contracts have no exit fee.

All new contracts also give you a 14-day cooling-off period, so you can still back out once you learn the fee. Ask your supplier and they have to tell you.

Prices will keep changing this winter. So will the rules. Sign up to our newsletter, and you’ll get the latest changes explained before they hit your bill.

What To Check Before The Heating Season Peaks

• Find the end date of your current contract. When a fixed gas contract ends, you automatically move to a variable rate.
• Compare all three contract types based on your own usage, not the national average. A comparison service such as Utility Direct can do this with you in English.
• Consider a dynamic contract with a price cap. Ibrahim Faydali from Enschede pays a few euros extra a month for his price cap and told NOS he has no regrets.
• Don’t sign anything during an unsolicited phone call. The ACM says these offers are usually not the best deals.

4 January, If Energy Eats a Tenth of Your Income

The Noodfonds Energie fund opens on Monday 4 January 2027 and closes on 7 May. It pays half your energy costs above 8 or 10 percent of gross income, depending on how far you are above the social minimum, between €120 and €1,800. On Thursday, Minister Stientje van Veldhoven called it the cabinet’s answer for the households that will feel this winter most.