ACM’s Monitor on the consumer energy market: average costs for natural gas and electricity remain the same due to lower supply tariffs

On 1 January 2024, households paid, on average, exactly the same for new energy contracts as they did on 1 December 2023. This has been revealed by the Monitor on the consumer energy market of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). On 1 January 2024, the system operation costs went up, on average, by seven euros per month. Taxes on natural gas have been raised, and taxes on electricity have been lowered. The supply tariffs follow the trend on the wholesale markets and have significantly gone down since 1 January 2024. As a result, a household with an average energy consumption pays 243 euros in January for their natural gas and electricity, which is the same as in December 2023.

The price cap was lifted on 1 January 2024, which is another important change. As a result, from 1 January onwards, all consumers again pay the prices in their energy contracts. In December 2023, approximately 450,000 households in the Netherlands had a contract with prices above the price cap. For consumers who now pay more, it can pay off to look for more economical contracts and to switch energy suppliers.

In the Monitor on the consumer energy market, ACM added information about the cost breakdown of energy bills. This information (in Dutch) explains how the cost breakdown has evolved since February 2023.

Fixed contracts

ACM's Monitor on the consumer energy market shows that the number of suppliers that offer fixed contracts keeps gradually going up. 27 of the 51 suppliers offer one-year fixed contracts. 18 suppliers offer fixed contracts with durations of two years or longer. The monitor also shows that there are six suppliers that offer fixed contracts with durations of over one year to households with solar panels. Suppliers are not required to offer fixed contracts, and, under the current rules, they are not prohibited from differentiating between customers with and without solar panels.

Dynamic contracts

The number of suppliers that offer dynamic contracts also keeps on going up each month. At the moment, there are 29 suppliers that offer dynamic contracts. With dynamic contracts, contract prices are directly linked to the price per day or hour on the wholesale markets for natural gas and electricity. Households with such contracts are able to see one day in advance on a website or in an app what they have to pay the next day. These contracts are mostly suited for households that have no problem with fluctuating prices, and that are perfectly capable of planning their natural-gas and electricity consumptions themselves, for instance, if they have electric cars that they charge at home.

See also

• Monitor on the consumer energy market (in Dutch)