It is increasingly difficult to find the best energy contract | Economy

During the energy crisis just over a year ago, permanent contracts were hardly available. Multi-year contracts also only came on the market again in the spring of 2023. But more has changed, also compared to before the war in Ukraine.

“Back then you actually only had a few choices. A variable contract with prices adjusted every six months or fixed contracts for one, two, three or five years,” says Joris Kerkhof of comparison site Independer. The offering is now more diverse. Energy rates for variable contracts are adjusted almost monthly and there are more types of fixed contracts.

There are also dynamic contracts. This changes the electricity price per hour and the gas price per day. You can sometimes also opt for only fluctuating prices for electricity and fixed prices for gas.

It is complicated to list the different options, especially for households with solar panels. Energy suppliers find these households less attractive due to the generation of green energy, especially for long contracts.

Households with solar panels can therefore, for example, not fix prices with an energy supplier for two years. Or, unlike other consumers, they are not eligible for a loyalty bonus.

Furthermore, they are faced with additional costs from more and more energy suppliers. One supplier charges feed-in costs for generated electricity, while the other charges a higher standing charge (fixed costs). If owners of solar panels generate more than they consume, they also receive various feed-in allowances from energy suppliers.

“It is a huge puzzle for consumers,” says Joyce Donat of the Consumers’ Association. “Particularly for solar panel customers, they face a range of costs. Some are visible and some are not.”

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An important reason why choosing an energy contract has become more complicated is that energy prices fluctuate much more. “People wonder what the best choice is: do I fix my prices for a long time or not?” says Kerkhof.

When comparing fixed and variable contracts, fixed and variable contracts are often mixed up. “What you do well has become more of a gamble. If you now opt for a permanent contract and energy prices continue to fall, you may be disappointed about it later. Before the energy crisis, price fluctuations were much smaller. And the gamble you make by being permanent so too.”

Comparison websites such as Pricewise, Independer, the Consumers’ Association and Gaslicht.com have been listing energy prices for years. They do this on the basis of monthly or annual costs. They calculate all the different types of costs and only show solar panel customers the offer that is available to them.

“It is becoming more complex for the consumer, but for us that is a challenge,” says Hans de Kok of Pricewise. “It is interesting to explain the differences between all types of additional costs and to show whether it is better to opt for lower energy prices or lower additional costs.”

Working without a comparison site is becoming increasingly difficult. “Until recently, you could possibly put everything in a row yourself with Excel sheets,” says Donat. “But now they are going to be big Excels.”

In recent months, regulator ACM and energy suppliers themselves, among others, have called for energy contracts to be made more comparable. For example, you could offer fewer types of bonuses or have feed-in costs for solar panel customers calculated in the same way. But for that the law needs to change.

At Pricewise and Independer they see little need to limit all the different types of costs when choosing an energy contract. “I understand the call, but building up energy costs has never been very simple and will never be,” says De Kok.

“At the same time, the different ways in which energy companies charge extra costs to solar panel customers actually create more competition,” says De Kok. “Consumers can benefit from this by choosing what suits them best.”