Another record number of people who have switched energy suppliers
More than one in five households (which is over 1.7 million of the 8 million households in the Netherlands) switched energy suppliers between April 2019 and April 2020, which is a new record number of switchers. Never before did so many consumers switch in a single year. Over the last three years, more than half (53%) of all consumers in the Netherlands switched energy suppliers or switched contracts at least once. This is one of the conclusions of the 2020 Energy Monitor that the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has published.
Large price differences between energy products
Energy prices continue to be the most important reason for consumers to switch (74%). Price differences between different energy products can be as high as 600 euros per year. For example, a consumer who signed an indefinite-term contract with variable rates in May 2020 (the so-called sleeper rate) will pay a maximum of 1,959 euros per year on energy (electricity and natural gas). If they switched to the cheapest one-year contract with fixed rates, they would pay 1,299 euros on energy.
Green power is a more and more important reason for switching
The supply of green power is becoming a more and more important reason for consumers to switch (21% last year, compared with 17% the year before). Another investigation conducted by ACM has shown that over half of all Dutch households consume green power, and that energy suppliers increasingly offer renewable energy and additional energy-saving services. ACM checks whether certificates of energy suppliers stating that their power is green comply with the statutory requirements. That will help towards consumer confidence in the energy market, and will help realize the energy transition.
Switching increasingly done online
More and more people (57%) switch using the websites of energy suppliers or through price-comparison websites. Fewer and fewer people switch through the customer service departments of energy suppliers, through doorstep sellers or through collective actions.