Dutch households signing new energy contracts this month will face slightly higher costs compared to the previous month, with variable contracts up by around one percent and fixed contracts up by two to three percent. These increases mirror the trends in wholesale electricity and natural gas markets.

The majority of consumers currently hold fixed-rate contracts, although there has been a slight decrease in recent months. The number of households with variable contracts has increased by almost 30,000 per month, while those with dynamic contracts have risen by 15,000 per month. Dynamic contracts allow for hourly electricity price variations and daily natural gas price changes.

ACM regularly publishes and monitors energy contract rates to ensure their reasonableness. Energy suppliers can pass on incurred costs to customers and retain a reasonable margin. While ACM has not found overall rates to be unreasonably high, it has noted a growing number of rates raising concerns, prompting potential enforcement actions against suppliers.

ACM advises consumers seeking new energy contracts to carefully compare offers from different suppliers to make informed choices.