The majority of Dutch people fear that energy bills will become unaffordable due to the ongoing battle between Iran and the United States. This is evident from research by price comparator Independer among more than two thousand Dutch people.
That fear seems well-founded. The rates for permanent contracts are now 13 percent higher than before the war in Iran, reports the supervisory authority of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets. Variable rates will also increase at energy companies as of July 1. There are no signals that energy prices will fall.
Although there is great fear of rising rates, the majority of Dutch people do not yet feel the increase. About 60 percent currently have a permanent contract; they only notice the recent price increases in their wallets when they renew their contract.
Take shorter showers
If the energy bill really gets out of hand in the near future, almost 40 percent of respondents plan to take shorter showers and lower the thermostat.
The results also reveal that the energy market has become so complicated that many people are uncertain about the costs and do not know whether they are making the right choices. For example, only 17 percent of people know what the financial consequences are of ending the netting scheme as of January 1, 2027.
With this arrangement, every kWh of solar power supplied to the electricity grid can later be used at a closed market. Stopping the scheme has major consequences for the energy bill. Every 1000 kWh of electricity that is now netted is worth 260 euros; next year that electricity will be virtually worthless under most energy contracts.
The government is blamed for the uncertainty. More than half believe that the government does not help them make the right choices and is also guilty of drawing up unclear rules, so that people do not know where they stand. In addition, the rules change so often that half of the people no longer have an overview. If they want to know what’s going on, they are more likely to ask friends or family than to ask the government.
Energy bill illegible
With all the terms such as feed-in compensation, feed-in costs, netting, energy tax refund and standing charge, the energy bill has become an unreadable document for many people. More than a quarter of Dutch people admit that they simply do not understand the annual statement.
And almost half have no idea what they actually pay for electricity and gas and how much they spend on energy tax and other levies.
To keep control of costs, consumers have a striking strategy: 44 percent call the energy supplier themselves to negotiate a discount when the contract expires, without actually switching. The call pays off.
Stable rules
When asked what policy change the government should implement, an overwhelming majority of 65 percent does not opt for more subsidies, but for stable rules and a predictable long-term policy.
Energy policy is wavering. The netting arrangement is a good example of this. Under the previous government, the plans changed from phasing out to leaving them intact and then abruptly ending them on January 1, 2027. These changes took place over a period of nine months.
After promoting the heat pump as an alternative to the gas central heating boiler, a new tariff system for electricity is now in the making, which partly offsets the financial benefit of the investment in electrification.
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